


A Diamond in the Rough

by luxnoctre



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Baekchen - Freeform, ChanSoo - Freeform, Episode: s07e01 Meet the New Boss, Fluff, I bash Mnet a lot, Jongdae the Hacker, Late Night Writing, M/M, Mafia EXO, SM is being stupid as always, So Much Sexual Tension, Violence, and Trump, and collab on youtube already, and my opinions in a fic, and pick up lines, baekchen stop being cowards, but i had to make you fall down the stairs, im sorry dean, kyungsoo is actually me, let EXO out of the dungeon, mafia, otp9 forever, really - Freeform, seductive baekhyun, sorry I didn't write smut, this is just a political work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 11:00:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18871867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luxnoctre/pseuds/luxnoctre
Summary: When Jongdae first moved to Seoul, he certainly wasn't expecting to be roped into a dangerous heist with one of Korea's most notorious mafia groups-and the super hot boss who clearly had no concept of boundaries wasn't helping his situation either.





	A Diamond in the Rough

**Author's Note:**

> First off, thank you so much to the wonderful mods for hosting this contest! I truly hope everyone enjoys these wonderful works~  
> Ofc, thank you so much to A & S, for pushing me in the right direction and inspiring me to write this fic. Kudos also to E, for being a brilliant beta and helping me out with the finer details~ 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this story and these other works in this ficfest! Thanks for all your support~  
> Warning: There is a mention of sexual harassment here, it's not severe nor is it explicitly described, but do be aware of it if you are sensitive to that topic. If you or someone you know is being treated this way, I hope you find the strength to stand up against it. 
> 
>  
> 
> BaekChen Family Forever <3  
> Let's be happy together~

The flashing numbers, strapped to a black bundle, ticked incessantly as the numbers ran down, closer to the fated 00:00. Its red lights pulsed in the darkness of the small room enclosing it. A man sat by the bundle, balancing a laptop on his lap, typing furiously. A bead of sweat trickled down the man’s neck as he glanced at the timer, his fingers never leaving the keyboard.

 

Only fourteen minutes and ten seconds before the man and everything around him would be eradicated by the seemingly harmless package. 

 

He took a deep breathe to calm his racing pulse. Fourteen minutes was plenty of time. There was a crackle of static, and a panicked voice filled the room.

 

“Jongdae? Where the hell are you?” 

 

The man continued working for a couple seconds before responding, “I’m not finished yet, I’ll be out in five, max.” 

 

“There’s barely any time left, you need to get out of there before the bomb goes off. Don’t worry about the ledger.” Jongdae couldn’t resist a small chuckle at the voice’s obvious concern. 

 

“I know what I’m doing, trust me. I’ll get it done and get out of here soon enough.” 

 

There was a pause before the voice responded quietly, “Ok, I trust you. I’ll see you outside.” Jongdae faintly smiled as he pressed a key and was greeted by a cheery ding from his lap. 

 

“See you outside, Baekhyun.” 

 

He continued to work, occasionally glancing at the ticking numbers beside him. But it wasn’t until he heard an unfamiliar hissing noise that Jongdae saw that the timer on the bomb had unexpectedly sped up.

 

Twelve minutes had just been reduced to eight. From eight, the timer went to four. That was Jongdae’s cue to close his laptop and get as far away from the package beside him. He stuffed a silver USB drive in his pocket and grabbed his bag. His hands trembled as he fumbled with the door handle in an effort to get it open.

 

He was only a few steps away from the elevator before the timer ticked to the final 00:00 and a blinding flash engulfed the room. 

\------

_ Earlier  _

 

Jongdae shielded his eyes as he looked timidly around his surroundings. Seoul was everything, and nothing, of what he expected. Tall skyscrapers jutted through the landscape, towering over everything in their wake. Clusters of shops and restaurants lined the streets, enticing customers with a variety of smells and sights. People on the sidewalks, moving like a colony of ants with their masks on and eyes focused on only what they wanted. Cars sped by, bright flashes of color against the gray streets. No one paid Jongdae and his suitcases any heed. 

 

It was only with the help of a phone navigator that Jongdae managed to find his new residency. To him, a Gyeonggi-do native, Seoul was a concrete jungle. Not to mention that the different accents threw Jongdae off whenever he tried to talk to anyone. Lucky for him, his saving grace came in the form of his two close friends landing him a nice apartment away from the center of the city, and a slightly monotone robotic voice telling him directions.

 

He took a deep breath and put on a winning smile before knocking on the door of his new landlord. Almost immediately, a woman dressed in business clothes opened the door. She had a stern look on her face and was clenching a rather sharp looking pen. “Are you from the  _ iljinhoe  _ gang?” She demanded. Jongdae was a bit frightened by the woman’s strong words. At his lack of a response, she brandished the pen into his face. “If you are, you can tell your friends that I’m not taking anymore of your bullshit and I’ll call the police if I ever see them around here.” 

 

Somehow, Jongdae found the words in him to say, “I’m sorry, I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.” The woman stopped, her eyes widening in shock. 

 

“Oh goodness! I am so sorry,” the lady said, bowing hurriedly. Jongdae, in a moment of slight social anxiety, started bowing as well saying that all was forgiven. After a mildly awkward lull of them literally just bowing to each other, the lady straightened up and flashed a charming smile at Jongdae. “I’m Kang Seulgi, the landlady here. Are you our new resident?”

 

“Yes, I’m Kim Jongdae. Please take care of me.” Jongdae responded with a low bow. He was still a bit wary of his landlady, but she seemed to be a respectable woman. Seulgi gestured him inside with a smile. The lobby reminded Jongdae of a posh hotel; lounge chairs in a corner and a tall desk at the front. Seulgi walked behind the counter and pulled out a couple of papers.

 

“I apologize for my behavior, I thought you were from those local school gangs that occasionally like to come here,” Seulgi said, handing Jongdae a pen. She told him where to sign the official agreement forms before continuing. “I think it’s because you look so young! Not many people move to this area of Seoul.” 

 

“Oh it’s ok! I moved here in search of a job,” Jongdae explained. He hesitated, before pressing more on the topic of gangs. “Do they come around here often? The iljinhoe, I mean.” 

 

Seulgi hurriedly shook her head, much to Jongdae’s relief. “They’re really just a group of school punks looking to make a quick buck. They won’t bother you, especially if you tell them that your landlady is Kang Seulgi,” she reassured. After checking that all the forms were in order, Seulgi handed Jongdae a set of keys and showed him to his new apartment before waving good-bye.

 

Jongdae entered his apartment slowly, fumbling for the light switch to his side. He had seen photos of the apartment and Minseok had checked it out for him, but Jongdae was still pleasantly surprised by the interior. It was three rooms connected; each having its designated purpose. There wasn’t too much furniture yet; a bed here, a couple sets of cupboards, a couch, and the necessary kitchen and bathroom utilities. But for a minimalist like Jongdae, it was perfect. He rolled his suitcases into the quaint bedroom and immediately started to unpack. Jongdae figured it would be good to send a message to his friends, and he was met with a flurry of responses and worried reminders. 

 

After unpacking his cases and exploring the rest of his apartment, Jongdae felt a wave of exhaustion from the day’s activities wash over him. He crashed on his bed, still dressed in his sweatshirt and jeans, with his last thoughts being that he needed to buy a couple house plants, and that maybe, Seoul wouldn’t be too bad. 

 

\----

Naps were probably the only reason why Jongdae still had enough energy to function like a decent human being. His sleep schedule may be jacked up and Jongdae probably was not getting the minimum eight hours recommended, but no worries, there was always time for a quick power nap. 

 

So after his refreshing nap, Jongdae decided to celebrate his newfound independence in Seoul in the only way he could; getting shit drunk. Which, in all perspectives, was probably a bad idea, but Jongdae figured what other way to submerge oneself into the city life than mingling with other city lifers (he swore that made sense in his head). 

 

An outfit change and a mildly uncomfortable taxi ride whose driver was clearly judging Jongdae’s clothing choices later and Jongdae found himself standing in front of a bright neon sign and a dark building partly hidden in the side of an alley. The Yelp reviews for the bar had been good with a steady rating of 4 and a half stars (although they said to bring an “arm” in case things got wild but Jongdae had no idea what that meant). He was also surprised to see some comments about how the bar was frequented by those of the LGBTQ+ community. Jongdae always knew he was gay (well actually he preferred the term “aromantic bisexual” but the last time he told that to someone, he earned the nickname of “Merriam Gayster” and that was not a good name to be yelling during sex so) and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t anticipating the people he was about to meet. 

 

When he strolled into the bar, Jongdae’s head was already pounding from the heavy bass blasting from the speakers and the sounds of people chatting away. It was still a bit early (if almost 9 pm was considered early) so Jongdae was able to find a seat at the bar and order a shot of vodka easily.

 

A major source of Jongdae’s pride was his high alcohol tolerance, so three shots in and Jongdae was feeling only a slight buzz. He was about to order his fourth before he heard a thump to his side. Jongdae turned and was met with a handsome face, gelled red hair, and a set of pearly whites. 

 

“Hey, what’s a tall, handsome guy like me doing with your number?” The man said in a deep voice that made the tiniest shiver run down Jongdae’s spine.

 

Breathe Jongdae, no man was winning his number that easily. He took a passive aggressive sip of his drink before replying, “That was cute, but you’re still not getting it.” 

 

The man didn’t seemed any bit disheartened but turned away and cheerfully ordered a drink. “You are gay right?” He asked, a sculpted eyebrow raised in question.

 

“Well actually I’m an arom-“ Jongdae hesitated, the whispers of a forbidden name flowing through his ears. “Yeah I’m gay.” 

 

The man’s smile seemed to light up even brighter (if that was possible) and he stuck out a hand to Jongdae. “I’m Chanyeol.”

 

“Jongdae.” 

 

“You must be new here, it’s been a while since I saw any fresh handsome faces.” Chanyeol said with a sly wink. “And your outfit was a dead giveaway to what way you swerved.” Jongdae looked down at his clothes at Chanyeol’s comments; a loose silk shirt, tight leather jeans and a flowy blue bomber. 

 

It was understandable why Chanyeol started flirting with him.

 

Jongdae was about to take another sip before a hand shot out and lowered his glass. “Oh you don’t want to drink any of that nasty stuff,” Chanyeol said, “You want to order the special drinks here.” Jongdae was intrigued; special drinks sounded like the perfect bad decision to make on his first night in Seoul. Chanyeol stood up from the bench, gesturing the other to follow. The pair weaved through the bustling crowd before Chanyeol ushered Jongdae into a side hallway.

 

“You’re not trying to kidnap me are you,” Jongdae said with a suspicious look. Chanyeol may be handsome, but that didn’t mean Jongdae trusted him. 

 

The other let out a loud laugh. “Of course not, I’m taking you to meet my friend. He owns the bar and he’ll give us some free drinks.” Chanyeol patiently explained before he stopped at the bottom of a flight of stairs. He cupped his hands together and yelled, “Dean! Get your ass down here, we have company.”

 

A couple seconds later, and a man dressed in neon blue athletic clothing appeared at the top of the stairs. “Chanyeol, you should know better than to yell my name,” the man grumbled, as he hurried down the stairs. But he suddenly mistepped and Jongdae watched as the man tumbled down, landing at Jongdae’s feet. The man looked up from the ground and flashed a confident smile (well, as confident as he could look). “Are you from France? Because I think Eiffel for you.”

 

Jongdae couldn’t resist, he kicked the man sharply in his ribs as Chanyeol snorted in laughter. 

 

The man, or Dean as Chanyeol called him, stood up with a mild groan. “I probably deserved that.” He mumbled before shaking Jongdae’s hand warmly. “Don’t worry, I won’t try to hit on you again.” Dean leaned towards Jongdae and jabbed a finger in Chanyeol’s direction. “It’s him you have to worry about.”

 

“Look, we’re just here for the drinks, don’t get jealous just because I’m getting more action than you,” Chanyeol teased to Dean’s annoyance. The bartender gestured them to follow him into a private room, grumbling under his breath about ungrateful redheads and painful bedsheets.

 

The room wasn’t nearly as crowded as the main area, with only a few customers sitting at tall tables and a couple waiters bustling around aimlessly, making small talk with the patrons. Chanyeol led Jongdae to sit in a reclusive corner as Dean disappeared and remerged with a couple of tall glasses. 

 

“The best, as requested,” Dean said, raising his glass in the air as a toast. The others followed suit and Jongdae took a long gulp, savoring the smooth liquid as it flowed down his throat. Chanyeol watched him attentively, taking small sips from his own glass. The trio held a comfortable conversation together; with Dean’s flirtations, Jongdae’s snark, and Chanyeol’s loud humor. Even though he was in an unfamiliar city, Jongdae could feel the tension leaching out from his body as he chattered with the others. 

 

“So Jongdae,” Chanyeol started, “What’s a pretty boy like you doing here? You don’t look like you’re from Seoul.” 

 

Jongdae gave a dry chuckle and took another sip. “That’s because I’m not, I’m from Gyeonggi-do. Seoul just happened to be where the jobs are, so here I am.” 

 

That seemed to peak Dean’s interest. “Jobs? What did you do back in Gyeonggi?” he asked.

 

“I was a computer engineer, and a corporate hacker.” 

 

Dean looked impressed. “Wow a smartie and a cutie? Are you sure you don’t want any of this?” Dean said seductively cocking an eyebrow and gesturing at his chest. Jongdae choked on his drink from laughter at how perverted he looked. Chanyeol, on the other hand, looked as if he was thinking about something. 

 

“Do you have any specifications about the job you’re looking for?” Chanyeol asked quietly, his gaze resting resolutely on Jongdae. The latter thought for a moment about the question. It wasn’t as if Jongdae had any preferences, except maybe a job with decent pay and reasonable hours. And obviously, a job that required the use of computers because Jongdae was one of those tech junkies with two computer screens and fancy mouses and too much knowledge about types of gaming PCs. 

 

Luhan used to always tell Jongdae that he didn’t need any sex, he could always use his computer to get off. Jongdae never bothered to correct him.

 

At Jongdae’s nod, Chanyeol sent Dean off with the pretence of getting more drinks and some snacks, and leaned in towards Jongdae. “I might have a job offering for you, if you’re interested,” Chanyeol said. Jongdae raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, which prompted Chanyeol to continue. “It’s a good paying job, but it requires a lot of hacking and computer experience if you’re up for it.” 

 

“I’ve been working as a whitecap hacker for almost seven years now, I think I have plenty of experience.” Jongdae deadpanned with a slight scoff. Chanyeol grinned and reached into his pocket, pulling out a gilded white card. 

 

“I like your style, call me when you’re ready,” Chanyeol said with a wink. He quickly got up from his chair and placed a large hand on Jongdae’s forearm. “I hope to see you again, Jongdae.” And with that, he turned and disappeared into the busy crowd. 

 

Dean arrived not a moment later, with drinks and chip bags in hand. “Did that fucker leave without paying again?” Dean said, exasperated with his friend’s aversion to paying. 

 

Jongdae merely shrugged and took another sip, hoping that Dean wouldn’t see his faintly tinted cheeks. 

\-------

Jongdae wasn’t even aware how he managed to get home, but the next day he woke up in his bed, smelling faintly like alcohol and still in his clubbing clothes. He got up, immediately wincing at his headache. After a quick scan of the room to make sure that there were no suspicious persons, Jongdae shifted and felt a sharp jab in his leg. He felt it to find the business card from the night earlier and made a mental note to call the number after a good, hot shower. 

 

Jongdae slowly rose from his bed and found a glass of water, aspirins, and a note from Seulgi on his suitcase. He felt a bubble of affection rise in him at Seulgi’s motherly tone and warning for him to take the pills. 

 

A refreshing shower and a cup of hot tea later and Jongdae was feeling positively energetic for someone who had consumed an unknown amount of alcohol the night prior. He figured he would give Chanyeol a call, and ask more about the job offer. Jongdae examined the card, a glossy white paper with a number etched in black and signed with the initials “PCY”. There was no address or logo, but Jongdae figured that this was more of a personal than business thing. 

 

It didn’t take long for Jongdae to hear Chanyeol’s mellow voice on the other line. They exchanged normal greetings, with Chanyeol asking Jongdae how he was feeling and Jongdae replying cheekily that he was doing much better than Dean. Upon asking about the job, Chanyeol seemed to have a hint of surprise in his voice.

 

“Are you still interested?” Chanyeol asked cautiously. Jongdae frowned, even though he knew Chanyeol couldn’t see him, at the other’s tone.

 

“Of course I am,” Jongdae responded with a small laugh, “A job is a job right?” 

 

That seemed to ease Chanyeol’s tension, as the other happily replied with details of a cafe where he would meet Jongdae for lunch to talk more. Jongdae readily agreed, already excited for the meeting (or date, if Jongdae could call it that). 

 

“Oh and Jongdae,” Chanyeol said as if he was just remembering something, “Make sure you dress nice ok?” And with that, the other hung up, leaving Jongdae alone with his (mildly inappropriate thoughts). To be honest, Jongdae had a small feeling that he felt some sort of attraction to Chanyeol, but like with all romantic endeavours that he had, Jongdae chose to ignore the feeling. Relationships weren’t exactly his cup of tea, at any rate. Instead, he needed to focus his energy on sifting through his luggage and finding a decent shirt to wear, preferably one that didn’t scream “I’m Gay!”. 

 

\-----

After hanging up, Chanyeol swung around in his armchair and smirked at the shadowy figure standing behind him. 

 

“He’s all in, boss.”

 

The figure shifted, allowing the light to reveal portions of his face. Jet black hair, piercing eyes, and a dangling earring with a hook. “Don’t make me regret this, Chanyeol. I don’t want to waste my time,” The figure said, his voice smooth like silk but with an underlying tone of warning. Chanyeol seemed unfazed, leaning back with a casual shrug. 

 

“Just go prepare for our meeting, Baekhyun, and leave the rest to me.” 

 

\------

Jongdae was sitting at a secluded table, his hands wrapped tightly around his cinnamon latte. His leg occasionally bounced up and down in anticipation and Jongdae had to stop himself from looking around the cafe too much. He had chosen black slacks and a light purple button up (one of the more professional outfits in Jongdae’s closet) and styled his hair. Chanyeol said the meeting would take place around 2. It was approaching the allotted time and there was still no sign of the taller. Jongdae would be lying if he said that he wasn’t nervous for the meeting. Not only was it a potential job interview, but Jongdae wouldn’t mind attempting to charm the other as well. 

 

Five minutes after 2 and Jongdae felt the smallest bubble of disappointment burst in him. He sipped his latte, and was watching the busy streets when he heard the chair in front of him move with a creak. 

 

“Hey, I was begi-” Jongdae paused in his sentence once he took in who was sitting in front of him. “You aren’t Chanyeol.” 

 

The man in front of him smiled (Jongdae’s brain briefly registered something about mysterious, handsome men always sitting in front of him but he disregarded it). Dressed in a casual navy blazer and black jeans, the man looked akin to a model that had just walked out of the nearest fashion magazine. “No, I’m someone better, much better,” The man said. 

 

“And who might that be?” 

 

The man neatly folded his hands underneath his chin and gave Jongdae a sly smile. “His boss,” he replied easily. Jongdae choked on his latte while the man across suppressed a chuckle. “I haven’t properly introduced myself.” He stuck out a hand and Jongdae took note of the several rings ornating his fingers. “I’m Baekhyun.”

 

“Jongdae,” he replied, shaking Baekhyun’s hand as confidently as possible. He noticed how Baekhyun seemed to run his fingers over Jongdae’s palm when letting go, and Jongdae tried to hide the cold shiver running down his back at the intimate touch. Baekhyun noticed Jongdae’s reaction and tilted his head. 

 

“Chanyeol said you were a hacker?” Baekhyun said with an air of curiosity. At Jongdae’s nod, he pressed on. “Tell me about what you did.”

 

“Well,” Jongdae started. Baekhyun was giving him an intense stare across the table, so Jongdae did his best to keep eye contact. “I used to be a white-cap hacker for several companies back in Gyeonggi. Just the normal stuff; debugging, looking for insecurities, breaking firewalls.”

 

“Were you any good?” Baekhyun interrupted. His gaze hadn’t faltered and Jongdae was feeling a little more pressured. It didn’t help that Baekhyun suddenly slipped his tongue out and licked the corner of his lips.

 

“Uh,” Jongdae stuttered, his eyes following the progress of Baekhyun’s mouth. ‘ _ How could something so simple look so sultry? _ ’ Jongdae’s mind demanded. Baekhyun smirked, clearly amused by the way Jongdae couldn’t stop watching him. He tapped his fingers on the table to gain the other’s attention. Jongdae flushed a shade of light pink and hurried with his response.

 

“Yeah, I think I was pretty great. A lot of companies would ask for my help and give me good pay, so.” Jongdae said, finally able to tear his gaze away and look Baekhyun in the eye. 

 

“If you were any good, than why did you leave?” Baekhyun asked. Jongdae once again faltered; his former employment problems were a bit of a sore spot. 

 

“Oh, you know,” Jongdae said, a tone of nervousness underlying his usually confident voice. “Just didn’t like the work environment, new boss type of thing.” He fiddled with his latte cup, hoping Baekhyun wouldn’t notice anything off. 

 

Baekhyun, fortunately, chose not to press on, instead asking, “What companies did you work for?”

 

Jongdae gave a small grimace. “Technically, I’m not suppose to talk about that,” Jongdae hesitated. Baekhyun only gave a small chuckle in response.

 

“Come on, Jongdae,” Baekhyun said in an alluring tone. Jongdae felt something shrivel up in him and die when he heard the other say his name in such a scandalous voice. Baekhyun leaned a little closer and dropped his voice down an octave. “You’re not working for them anymore, why all the secrecy?” 

 

Jongdae was still unsure, but his resolve was broken when Baekhyun (not so) subtly bit his lip and once again gave the other a deep stare. “Um,” Jongdae decided to just go for it, “Mostly technology or financial companies. Worked for Samsung a couple of times, YGM Industries, Mbank NETwork-”

 

“Wait,” Baekhyun raised a decorated hand to stop Jongdae midway. “You worked for Mbank?”

 

“Well, yeah, they were actually that last company I work at,” Jongdae trailed off when he noticed how Baekhyun fell into a thoughtful look. “Is there something wrong?”

 

“Nope!” Baekhyun said with a sudden cheer that catches Jongdae off guard. “Actually, everything is perfect. I’d love to have you help me.” 

 

Jongdae blinked in surprise. “Oh, that’s great,” he responded, giving Baekhyun a tentative smile. Baekhyun stood up from the cafe before resting his palms on the table and leaning forward.

 

“Are you busy right now?” 

 

At Jongdae’s shake, Baekhyun held out his hand. “Then let me show you around Seoul for a bit,” he offered, giving Jongdae a bright smile. The other was understandably cautious, but he agreed to Baekhyun’s proposition. After all, who was Jongdae to pass up an opportunity to tour the city with his hot new boss. 

 

Baekhyun led Jongdae out of the bustling cafe and to a sleek black Audi. “Woah,” Jongdae couldn’t help but saying when he saw the car. 

 

“Come on,” Baekhyun opened the door and revealed the leather interior. “We haven’t got all day.” Jongdae got into the vehicle cautiously, not wanting to damage anything. On the other hand, Baekhyun practically jumped into the driver seat. He lightly fingered the steering wheel and snorted when he saw Jongdae treating even the seatbelt with a level of caution akin to handling a glass vase. Baekhyun leaned over and suddenly took the belt and fastened it. He looked up at Jongdae’s blushing face, a mere couple of inches away, and smirked.

 

Jongdae felt like his heart (and face) exploded, right there, right then.

 

“Right,” Baekhyun said, moving away as if he hadn’t just casually killed Jongdae’s fragile soul. “Let’s go to one of my favorite spots.” Jongdae only gave an unresponsive hum, as his mind was still recovering from the close encounter. 

 

At last, Jongdae gained enough senses back to ask, “So, Chanyeol never gave me any details about the job.” 

 

Baekhyun glanced over before saying, “It’s a hacker job, perfect for someone of your caliber.” 

 

“Ok, that much I figured out,” Jongdae responded, with his usual level of snark back on, “But, what am I hacking into?” 

 

“All in due time, kitten.”

 

Jongdae felt his face burn at Baekhyun’s nickname. “What did you just say?” 

 

Baekhyun’s smile beamed like a glaring spotlight. “Kitten,” Baekhyun clarified, “I give all my workers a nickname, and that is yours.” 

 

“Do you get a nickname?”

 

Baekhyun tilted his head and winked at Jongdae. “I do, but you’ll have to find that out later.” 

 

Jongdae couldn’t suppress the small laugh rising from his throat. “You just love keeping the mystery, huh?”

 

“Well of course,” Baekhyun once again gave Jongdae a bright smile, “How else am I suppose to have fun?” 

 

“Like every other normal person,” Jongdae grumbled, turning away from Baekhyun. He watched the streets speed by through the tinted windows. He was a bit curious as to where Baekhyun was taking him, but Jongdae didn’t have the mind nor energy to start another conversation. Baekhyun reminded Jongdae a little too much of his old boss, and that did not bring back good memories. ‘The only difference was, Baekhyun was at least a hell of a lot more attractive than the old geezer’ Jongdae thought.

 

It wasn’t till the car humned to a stop that Jongdae looked back at Baekhyun. “Where are we?” he asked. The only thing Jongdae could see was the Han river flowing in front of them. Behind in the distance, there were the bright lights of various storefronts. When Baekhyun didn’t respond, but gestured Jongdae to get out of the car, Jongdae was having a couple second thoughts about following his devilish attractive boss. 

 

Maybe next time, he should keep it in his pants.

 

But then Baekhyun knocked on Jongdae’s window with a puzzling look. “Are you coming out?” Baekhyun said, his voice muffled by the glass. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, give me a moment,” Jongdae mumbled, fiddling with his seatbelt. He got out his phone and punched in a quick message to Seulgi. Jongdae never thought he’d say this, but his landlady was the first person that Jongdae wanted to notify before he may be stabbed and pushed into the Han river by his mysterious and gorgeous boss. He felt, out of all the people he knew, Seulgi would be able to kick Baekhyun's (sinfully) perfectly shaped ass.

 

What a life. 

 

Baekhyun was leaning against the railing, waiting for Jongdae to come out. He flashed another coy smile before turning away and gesturing to the river below them. “Ever walk around the Han before?” 

 

Jongdae shook his head, admiring the scene laid out before him. The river was flowing slowly, small waves lapping against the shore in a tranquil way. There were very little people around them, a couple here and a cyclist speeding past there. Baekhyun saw Jongdae’s attention focused on their surroundings and took the opportunity to take a good look at Jongdae. It wasn’t that Baekhyun was unable to do so back in the cafe, but under Jongdae’s wary eye, Baekhyun hadn’t been able to break eye contact. He admired the way the purple complimented Jongdae’s black hair, and how the slacks accented the form of his legs. 

 

Baekhyun immediately directed his eyes elsewhere before he got any strange thoughts.

 

“You know why I brought you to this spot?” Baekhyun called out, shaking Jongdae from his thoughts.

 

“I hope not to kill me.” 

 

Baekhyun allowed a chuckle at Jongdae’s suspicious tone. “No,” he said, taking a step closer to Jongdae. “Because this is known as the one of the most romantic spots on the river.” 

 

Jongdae flinched at Baekhyun’s comments and whirled around in astonishment. “Uh,” Jongdae started, “What?”

 

Baekhyun simply smiled and continued to speak, “I brought you here because I’ve taken a liking to you, Jongdae.”

 

Needless to say, Jongdae was in pure disbelief. He debated whether he should just dunk himself into the river right then and there, to save himself from the embarrassment. If Baekhyun would actually professing his interest in him, then Jongdae was about to yell at the universe for either giving him the best or the worst luck ever.

 

Taking no heed of Jongdae’s internal panic, Baekhyun continued. “Really, I’m impressed by Chanyeol to be able to find someone as,” He paused and scanned Jongdae from head to toe, “Exceptional as you.” The way Baekhyun looked at him made Jongdae feel like he was being treated like a fascination specimen and Baekhyun was the first one to discover him.

 

Yet oddly enough, Jongdae couldn’t bring himself to tear away from Baekhyun’s eyes.

 

“And that’s why I decided to accept you to this job, Jongdae,” Baekhyun said. “Failure is unacceptable to me, and I trust that you understand this.”

 

Jongdae nodded resolutely. “Of course,” he responded, “For me, failing is akin to giving up, and I never give up.” Baekhyun stepped closer at Jongdae’s determined answer. There was a smirk on his pink lips that was barely visible in the fading daylight. Jongdae willed himself not to blink as Baekhyun moved ever so closely to him. Jongdae could practically see every detail on    
Baekhyun’s sculptured face, from the empty ear piercing to the moles decorating his brown eyes that seemed to turn midnight black with the sunset. 

 

“You know, this job will pay you well enough so that you’d never have to work a day in your life again, Jongdae,” Baekhyun said, lowering his voice to a rumbling in his chest and a purr in Jongdae’s ears.

 

“It’s worth that much money,” came Jongdae’s reply. 

 

Baekhyun nodded, his lips tilted in a playful  smile as if he was gazing upon a small child. “But it might be dangerous, and at times, seemingly impossible. Are you sure you’re up for it?” 

 

“Are you doubting me?” Jongdae answered with the lightest scoff. He was barely able to keep his composure with Baekhyun in such close proximity. He was so distracted by Baekhyun’s shimmering eyes and soft-looking lips. 

 

“Of course not, kitten. I just have to make sure that you’re up for this.” Baekhyun laid a ringed hand on Jongdae’s forearm and raised an eyebrow, as if he was teasing Jongdae with his statements.

 

“I’m up for it.”

 

And it was true, Jongdae was ready for whatever the hell the job was. It wasn’t just that Jongdae was as stubborn as a great oak tree, it’s also that Jongdae felt a deep desire inside of him to please Baekhyun, and show him just how “exceptional” he was in any way he could.

 

Whether that was through the job, or by other means that Jongdae really didn’t have the emotional capacity to think about at the time. 

 

Seeming satisfied, Baekhyun finally stepped away and Jongdae was able to exhale a breath he hadn’t noticed he was holding. “Then let’s go, kitten,” Baekhyun started to walk back to the car, gesturing Jongdae to follow him. “Let’s go introduce you to the headquarters.” Jongdae stared briefly at Baekhyun’s retreating back before shaking his head to wake himself from his stupor, and hurried after his boss. 

 

\------

Baekhyun’s “headquarters” turned out to be an apartment loft in a wealthy neighborhood. Jongdae at first hesitated in front of the door, still thinking that the entire trip had been nothing but a trap to lure him in. But a disarming smile from Baekhyun and Jongdae found himself in a very pristine and lavish looking living room. There was a large couch in the center of the room, directly opposite from a flat-screen TV (Jongdae saw that it was playing Game of Thrones and immediately turned away, he did not need to see any spoilers and ruin his day). Baekhyun showed Jongdae where he could put his shoes and gave a pair of fluffy purple house slippers.

 

“House slippers?” Jongdae wondered curiously.

 

“Yup,” Baekhyun responded. “Kyungsoo gets pissed if we walk all over the carpet with our feet.” 

 

“And this Kyungsoo is..” Jongdae hesitated as he was pulling on the shoes.

 

“One of the members of the team,” Baekhyun said passively, with an air of dismissal that made Jongdae decide to not ask anything else. Baekhyun led Jongdae through the loft, who spotted several closed doors, before pausing in front of a room. “You can work in here.”

 

When Baekhyun opened the door, Jongdae saw that there were several tables set up around the room, each having various items strewed across it. In the center of the room, stood a sight that made Jongdae’s binary heart leap in joy. Two sleek monitors stood side by side, their screens reflecting the light in Jongdae’s eyes as he immediately rushed over to the table. He pulled out the chair, a rolling thing with a plump cushion, and sat down. Jongdae ran his hands over the monitors and the motherboard, not resisting the sigh of contentment when he noticed the model.

 

“I can’t believe you managed to get the latest HP,” Jongdae pressed the power button and humned in contentment when the monitors booted up instantaneously. “These are even nicer than the ones I had at my old workplace.” 

 

“I’m glad you like them,” Baekhyun said, pulling up a chair by Jongdae. The other wasn’t as distracted by Baekhyun’s presence as before, since he was too preoccupied with fiddling around with the computers. Baekhyun seemed to notice this, because he snapped his fingers to grab Jongdae’s attention. “What should you say to me?” Baekhyun said, batting his eyelashes alluringly. 

 

Jongdae flushed the lightest pink, but decided to play whatever game Baekhyun was playing with him. “Thank you so much, Baekhyun, I love it,” Jongdae said, shaking his lips into a small smirk, lowering his voice so that he was practically purring the words. Baekhyun suddenly felt a familiar tightness in his lower regions. He pulled away and coughed to hide his awkwardness. 

 

Jongdae, once again, was giving Baekhyun certain thoughts.

 

“Well, I ought to leave you to set up or whatever you techies do,” Baekhyun said, standing off. “I’ll, uh, be back in a bit to check on you.” Jongdae nodded and waved cheerily before returning his attention back to the computers. Humming a song he heard somewhere, Jongdae got to work setting the systems to his preference, his mood going up and up with every moment.

 

Once he was out of earshot, Baekhyun immediately called Chanyeol. “He’s in the tech room right now,” Baekhyun informed the other. He peeked out of the blinds to see that the street outside was still clear of any cars. “You might want to pop in before he leaves.”

 

“I’m on my way. Where are the others?” 

 

“Making preparations. We just need to catch Jongdae up to speed and we’ll be set.”

 

“Alright.” A pause in Chanyeol’s response. “How do you like him?” 

 

Baekhyun smiles contently, even though he knew the other couldn’t see him. “I must admit, I’m impressed. He’s quite appealing.”

 

“I found him at Dean’s bar if you were wondering.”

 

“I wasn’t.” 

 

“...oh ok.” 

 

“Just hurry up and get here.” With that, Baekhyun hung up the call. He wasn’t joking when he told Chanyeol that he was impressed with Jongdae; Baekhyun was quite interested in seeing what the hacker could do. Everything about Jongdae seemed so wonderfully unique and tempting. Baekhyun couldn’t wait till he charmed the other over.

 

He peeked into the dark room to see Jongdae typing furiously, his fingers running across the keyboard with a muffled clicking noise. At that moment, the doorbell rang, echoing throughout the loft.

 

“Ah, Jongdae, Chanyeol is here,” Baekhyun called out, successfully grabbing the other’s attention.

 

“Oh? Chanyeol?” Jongdae said, spinning around. He immediately started to run his hands through his hair and smooth out his shirt. Baekhyun frowned a little at Jongdae’s reaction, but didn’t comment.

 

When he opened the door (after checking of course, because Baekhyun had some common sense), Chanyeol, dressed in a long black turncoat, bound into the loft like a overgrown dog. 

 

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol exclaimed happily, giving the other the usual fist bump. “Where’s Jongdae?” 

 

“Right here!” 

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol turned to see Jongdae happily smiling while casually leaning on the doorway. “It’s good to see you again, Chanyeol,” Jongdae said with a bright smile.

 

Baekhyun blinked. Jongdae hadn’t smiled like that at him yet. 

 

“Ah, Jongdae,” Chanyeol said, walking over with large steps. “How’s the job so far?”

 

“Amazing,” Jongdae promptly responded, “Thank you so much for helping me. I don’t know how I could repay you back.”

 

At that point, Baekhyun interjected with, “How about thanking the person who actually gave you the job in the first place?”

 

Jongdae, to Baekhyun’s shock, ignored him and fixed Chanyeol with a batting of his (ridiculously) long eyelashes. Chanyeol seemed unfazed and waved Jongdae off. “You don’t need to repay me back at all,” Chanyeol said. “I’m delighted to be able to help.”

 

Baekhyun’s nostrils flared at how Jongdae practically gave Chanyeol heart eyes because (Baekhyun angrily thought) those eyes should only be directed to him. A new plan was formed: keep Jongdae away from Chanyeol at all costs. 

 

“Alright, well,” Baekhyun interrupted with a loud clap of his hands. He swiftly stepped in front of the two, much to Jongdae’s mild annoyance. “Let’s finally discuss the details of the job ok?”

 

That placated Jongdae’s attitude enough as he sat down on one of the sinfully comfortable couches. Chanyeol sat to him (to Jongdae’s delight and Baekhyun’s horror) offering him one of his cheerful smiles.

 

“So, obviously, this job requires a good amount of technical finesse,” Baekhyun said, taking a seat opposite from the two. He made sure to sit close enough to Jongdae so that their knees were almost touching. “Essentially, we want you to hack into a company’s mainframe and fiddle around with the security.”

 

Jongdae couldn’t help but grow a bit suspicious at Baekhyun’s words. It wasn’t that the task was particularly difficult (security was made to be hacked as Jongdae liked to think) but the job sounded more like an illegal black-cap hack rather than the usual legal white-caps. Jongdae wasn’t ready to go to jail, hell, he’s not even ready when the postage man knocks on his door to deliver his suspiciously damaged packages. Not to mention, jail was essentially the worst place to find Jongdae’s type. Sure, Jongdae didn’t mind bad boys, but he certainly minded sociopaths or whoever else went to jail around here. So naturally, Jongdae made up his mind to inquire more about the job without causing any alarm. 

 

“Is this job legal?” 

 

‘Wow, way to go’ Jongdae’s mind helpfully supplied. Best way to interrogate one’s new boss was to ask the most obvious question with no filter whatsoever.

 

Luckily, Baekhyun didn’t seem fazed or surprised. “Of course!” Baekhyun reassured him, “We were personally hired by the company’s board to test out their defenses and see how the employees would react to the attack.” 

 

“Do you have proof?” Jongdae asked. Realizing his bluntness, he quickly rectified his question, “I mean, how can I know for sure that you guys aren’t, I don’t know, a bunch of criminals.” Chanyeol seemed to anticipate Jongdae’s question, as he opened his briefcase and pulled out a couple sheets of paper.

 

“Here’s the contract we signed with the company,” Chanyeol explained, showing Jongdae the contracts and terms. “Is this enough for you?” Jongdae nodded, scanning over the papers. Everything looked legitimate, so Jongdae’s doubts were gradually dispersed, until he noticed a very familiar logo and name in the corner of the contract. In that instant, Jongdae’s heart dropped down through his chest and he felt a familiar tightness build in his throat. He hissed out a breath as quietly as he could, his hand clenching tightly by his side.

 

“The company is Mbank NETwork?” Jongdae said slowly, his voice trembling the slightest. Jongdae dug his nails into his palm, forcing himself to concentrate on the pain and calm his anxious heart.

 

“Yup,” Baekhyun said, his voice not as cheerful as earlier. It was clear that Baekhyun noticed the tension in Jongdae’s eyes at the mention of the company, but Baekhyun knew that it was not yet his place to comment anything. “That’s one of the reasons why we hired you. Considering you already worked for them, you should already know their mainframe.” 

 

“Yeah,” came Jongdae’s quiet agreement. Jongdae supposed Baekhyun had a point; as a former employee, of course Jongdae would already be familiar with the company’s system. Still, Jongdae felt a sharp pain in his chest when he thought about dealing with Mbank again. He didn’t notice that he reflexively rubbed his wrists, and hunched in on himself as a sign of defense. 

 

Baekhyun was quick to change the topic to something a little more cheery; the pay. “As for your pay,” Baekhyun started, “We are willing to pay you around a million once the job is complete.”

 

Jongdae openly did a double take and gave Baekhyun such an incredulous look at the mention of the sum. “That much money for a job like this?” Jongdae said in disbelief. In all his years of hacking, no one had ever paid him anything close to the money Baekhyun was offering. 

 

Baekhyun tilted his head, his lips in an amused smile. “I did say only the best for the best right?” mused Baekhyun. “Why? Do you have any problems?”

 

“P-problems?” stuttered out Jongdae. No, of course he didn’t have any problems. Jongdae’s mathematical mind did a couple quick calculations and worked out that with the pay, he would be able to finally buy that new PC he had been looking at, or that phone, and finally go out to the super fancy restaurant that Luhan was always crowing about. Not to mention, the job would be fairly easy considering (Jongdae hadn’t told Baekhyun yet but) Jongdae was one of the people who helped create Mbank’s security in the first place. Needless to say, the job was possibly one of the greatest things Jongdae had ever encountered in his life.

 

The hot boss and coworker was a bonus. 

 

Baekhyun took Jongdae’s lack of a coherent response as a sign that the hacker didn’t have any problems. So, Baekhyun gestured Chanyeol to pull out a glossy piece of paper. He placed on the coffee table in front of Jongdae along with a gold pen. “If you have no objections, please sign the contract to show we are all in agreement,” Baekhyun explained. 

 

Jongdae took the pen with a still unsteady hand. He just couldn’t shake off the uncanny feeling that he was signing more than a contract. But Baekhyun and Chanyeol have been nothing short of amazing (even if Baekhyun was a saucy flirt) and the job was enough to pay off Jongdae’s lifestyle for at least a couple of years. After scanning the paper, Jongdae hesitated for a fraction of a second, before neatly signing his name. He finished off the signature with a flourish, and looked up at Chanyeol who fixed him with an approving nod. 

 

“You’re one of us now,” Chanyeol joked, taking back the paper and stowing it away safely in his case. Jongdae couldn’t help but chuckle at the way Chanyeol seemed to ease him instanously. 

 

“So when do I start?” inquired Jongdae. 

 

“Tomorrow,” Baekhyun said. “Tonight, you should head back home and rest up for your first day.” 

 

Jongdae readily agreed, as he could slowly feel his body relax with exhaustion. Chanyeol offered to drive him home, but Baekhyun beat the taller, citing he wanted to have one last talk. Chanyeol gave Baekhyun a long looks that communicated more than just words, but he agreed regardless. Jongdae (regretfully) said his goodbyes to Chanyeol before heading out into the cool night with Baekhyun.

 

The car ride was quiet, a comfortable atmosphere with the radio filling the emptiness with a cheery pop song. Jongdae gazed out of the frosted windows, watching stores and trees speed by, his mind lost in thoughts of his former employments. Baekhyun glanced over at him a couple times, but kept quiet. 

 

It wasn’t until the car pulled up in front of Jongdae’s apartment that Baekhyun spoke. He decided that he had to leave Jongdae with one last reminder of who Baekhyun was, and what Baekhyun could do to him. The man leaned over, a smirk fixated on his handsome features, and with a soft hand, moved Jongdae’s hair out of his eyes. “Sleep well tonight, kitten,” Baekhyun said, “We have a big day tomorrow.” 

 

Jongdae, stunned by Baekhyun’s intimacy for a fraction of a second, responded with a grateful smile, before bidding goodbye and stepping out of the car. Jongdae didn’t enter his apartment immediately, choosing to stand in the doorway and watch as Baekhyun’s car speeded into the night. 

 

Jongdae entered his apartment with a confused heart and mind. He waved a greeting at Seulgi before retreating into his loft like a recluse hacker. Jongdae headed straight for the shower, eager to wash the day’s grime off of him. When unbuttoning his shirt, he noticed how his clothes faintly smelled like strawberries and sandalwood. Jongdae paused for a second, soaking in the relaxing scent. He wondered how his shirt still smelled so nice, until he remembered that Baekhyun had the same scent. 

 

Without any more thought, Jongdae unceremoniously tossed the shirt in his laundry basket.

 

After a hot shower, Jongdae plopped onto his bed and got out his phone. He opened up his messages with his friends, who had already been sending him several messages. Jongdae typed out his reply, talking about his day and exciting telling them that he already found a job. Luhan (being the good friend he was) eagerly asked Jongdae if he got laid yet, to which Jongdae replied with a no, but told him that he did have a pretty attractive boss and co-worker. Minseok, the more rational of the three, asked what the job was. Jongdae told the two about how he was going to test out security for a company, but Jongdae purposely concealed the name of the company from his friends. He knew that if he told them, Luhan and Minseok would instantly grow apprehensive, and Jongdae didn’t want to worry his friends any more than necessary. The conversation ended on a light note, with Luhan and Minseok both wishing him good luck and telling him to eat well. Jongdae replied with a grateful good night and an urge to take a vacation. 

 

Jongdae was feeling relatively calmer by the time he put his phone away. He debated if he wanted to actually make some dinner, or if he just wanted to grab some instant ramen. Naturally, he went for the chicken ramen and an apple (because Jongdae was healthy like that). He turned on his TV and put on the latest Game of Thrones episode, slurping his noodles happily as he became engrossed in the messy affairs of Westeros. 

 

\-----

Back at the house, Baekhyun was having a conversation with Chanyeol about Jongdae.

 

“Can you like, stay away from Jongdae for a bit?” Baekhyun said, lying flat on the couch and fiddling with his phone.

 

Chanyeol looked up from where he was working with a puzzled expression. “Why?” 

 

“I want him to pay more attention to me.” Baekhyun’s blunt answer sent Chanyeol into a series of chuckles.

 

“Wow, the infamous Byun Baekhyun finally taking interest in one of his little toys, huh?” Chanyeol joked, covering his mouth with a large hand to prevent himself from full out laughing.

 

“Don’t make fun of me,” Baekhyun grumbled, getting up from his position. “But anyway, how’s the rest of the team?”

 

“You know them, just fooling around until the plan is set,” Chanyeol answered, “Jongin and Sehun nearly got kicked out of a bar because they were pissing off some hot shot gang.”

 

Baekhyun gave Chanyeol a dead stare to which Chanyeol responded with a nonchalant shrug.

 

“I can’t spend all my time watching them,” Chanyeol said, “Plus, they needed to let off some steam.” 

 

“Once this job is ready,” Baekhyun commented, “They can let off as much steam as they want.” 

 

“Speaking of which, when do you think it’ll be set?” Chanyeol asked, pointing his pen at Baekhyun and spinning side-to-side in his chair. “I think Jongdae will be able to get into the servers fast enough, but do you trust him not to rat us out?”

 

Baekhyun hummed lazily, his eyes focusing on the street outside. He had a shrewd feeling that there was something about Mbank that Jongdae wasn’t telling Baekhyun. But for whatever reason, Baekhyun was content with letting Jongdae keep his secrets for now. Baekhyun closed his eyes, his fingers rubbing one of his rings out of habit. There was always a time and place for breaking down someone’s walls and releasing the dam of pent up emotions. Jongdae’s time would come soon.

 

“Yeah, I trust him.”

 

——

The rising sun found Jongdae up and early, doing his morning stretches in his living room. He started doing yoga after Luhan had dragged him to a class at their gym and Jongdae found it extremely relaxing. He was lying down on his mat, his legs flat and his elbows propping himself up as he stretched his back. Suddenly, his phone went up with a loud playing of Maroon 5. Jongdae rolled over from his mat (like a lazy cat) and grabbed for the device. 

 

“Hello?” He greeted, his voice scratchy with tiredness. 

 

“Jongdae! You’re awake so early, that’s good!” Jongdae winced at the loud voice coming from the speaker.

 

“Baekhyun? Why are you calling me at,” He checked his watch, “6 in the morning?”

 

“Because it’s time to go to work!”

 

Jongdae paused for a good couple of seconds as his free hand absentmindedly scratched his chin. “I haven’t eaten breakfast yet,” he said. While that was true, Jongdae also wasn’t ready to be assaulted by his boss and coworker’s looks at ass o’clock in the morning. 

 

“No worries, we have breakfast for you.” Baekhyun didn’t seem bothered at all by the morning hours. “Chanyeol will be at your apartment soon.”

 

That woke Jongdae up faster than a bucket of ice water. “W-What?” Jongdae sputtered out. He hurriedly got up from the floor and ran to his room (nearly tripping over his packing boxes and slamming his head into the doorway). 

 

“He should be there in around 10 minutes, so I’ll see you in a bit, kitten!”

 

“Wait!” Jongdae yelled but it was too late, Baekhyun hung up on him faster than Jongdae could stop him. “That cheeky..” Jongdae grumbled, but he has no time to whine about his boss’ odd work habits. Jongdae had a job to prepare for. 

 

Jongdae couldn’t remember another time when he got prepared for that day in such a short span of time (that was a lie, one time he overslept on his mother’s birthday dinner and was out of his apartment in 4 minutes). By the time Chanyeol had texted him that he was in front of his house, Jongdae was looking put together as if he totally had not torn through his suitcases like a raging tornado. Chanyeol kept up a steady stream of conversation (one that Jongdae was more than happy to contribute to) until they arrived to the house.

 

Baekhyun was waiting for them when they pulled up into the lot. He waved cherrily at Jongdae who returned it rather half-heartedly. The moment Jongdae stepped foot inside the loft, Baekhyun shoved a plate of eggs and pancakes at him. “Here’s your breakfast,” Baekhyun informed him, steering Jongdae towards the computer room. “Now let’s get to work!” 

 

“Wait,” Jongdae said, digging his (fluffy slippered) feet into the wood floor. “There’s a couple things that I need before I start.” 

 

“Oh, I already got everything you need, kitten,” Baekhyun waved his hands in a sign of dismissal. Jongdae was rendered speechless by Baekhyun’s readiness before he was seated in front of the monitor. “Just get straight to work,” Baekhyun ordered, “And let me know if you need anything at all.” Baekhyun gave Jongdae a bright smile before he turned and hurried out of the room. Jongdae was left alone in the room as he watched Baekhyun’s retreating back. 

 

Jongdae exhaled loudly, clearly puzzled by Baekhyun’s eagerness. But he assumed that Baekhyun just wanted the job to be done as quickly as possible. So Jongdae dutifully turned on the monitor and got to work. There was a small pastel blue notebook lying over the keys. Jongdae snorted when he saw the cutesy cover with fluffy clouds and flipped it open to see a list of all of Mbank’s networks and passwords. Jongdae couldn’t contain his happiness when he saw how carefully everything was prepared for him. He previously thought he would need to manually break down the firewalls surrounding the company’s servers but with the passwords, hacking into the company would be as easy as baking a cake (not that Jongdae has ever baked one).

 

Jongdae wanted to have a little more fun messing around with Mbank’s servers, so he took his time getting inside the securities. He took advantage of as many flaws and bugs he could, wielding his codes like a hammer and breaking through the firewalls. He marvelled at how potentially fragile Mbank’s security was.

 

“Looks like they really couldn’t handle me leaving huh?” Jongdae murmured to himself, a pleased smile lingering on his lips. Jongdae could distinctly recall him spending late hours in the office, working on perfecting the security system. While the rest of his co-workers went home happy and ready for a drink at the local bar, Jongdae stayed behind, locked up in his cubicle and his eyes glued to the screen. He was often left alone in the office, and Jongdae didn’t mind it at all. Until, of course, his boss started to take a little too much interest in him and his work. 

 

Jongdae aggressively shook his head to clear any bad thoughts. He inhaled and exhaled, calming his increasing heartbeat. He had a job to focus on, now was not the time to be focusing on revenge. 

 

Hours past and Jongdae was falling into his familiar stride. Baekhyun popped in a couple times, bringing snacks and drinks for Jongdae. He also stayed to watch Jongdae work for a couple minutes, making the occasional comment. But overall, Baekhyun and Chanyeol left Jongdae to his own devices. Jongdae took a minute break from his typing to take a sip of the strawberry milk that Baekhyun gave him. He reviewed his work, taking notes of the weak points and where Jongdae was able to force entry. Jongdae moved his shoulders and felt a sudden tightness around the muscles, so he decided to walk around the house a bit, and grab some more strawberry milk while he was at it (he just ran out). When Jongdae was making his way to the door, he heard voices outside. Jongdae paused and slowly crept to the door. Opening the door a sliver, Jongdae pressed his ear to the door.

 

“Dong-an hasn’t made any move yet?” said an unfamiliar voice. It was deprived of emotion, and almost seemed bored.

 

“Not yet, it seems the threat of having the H.S.S. set fire to his ass is holding him back for now.” Jongdae felt a shiver run down his back at the sound of Chanyeol’s voice. But the man seemed to lost all trace of the happiness he displayed around Jongdae.

 

“Well, then we’ll just have to make our move before then.” Another voice, almost as emotionless as the first. “If we’re too late, Dong-an will be able to call in reinforcements before we can get our hands on that ledger.” That caught Jongdae’s interest; he knew nothing of a ledger. A sudden thought crossed his mind that maybe Baekhyun and Chanyeol weren’t all that they seemed. 

 

“The other leaders are dead, it’s just Dong-an left.” Jongdae’s eyes grew wide at the statement. He was growing increasingly confused, and honestly, a little scared.

 

Jongdae risked to open the door a little wider, just to peek out into the room. He saw three other black clad men sitting with Chanyeol on the couches. One of them was fingering a wickedly sharp knife in his hands, eyes narrowing as he listened to the conversation. Chanyeol was sitting on the long couch with a brown haired man with a bright smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Another was lounging comfortably, feet up on the coffee table and sipping at a coffee. But the way that he was holding the cup was odd, as if he was missing some fingers. Jongdae leaned forward to get a closer look, and promptly tumbled into the room. 

 

Within seconds, Jongdae was lying down on the floor, a foot planted firmly on his back and the black barrel of a gun staring straight at him. Jongdae’s breath hitched when he glanced up to see a short man with dark brown hair and a cold glint in his eye watching him.

 

“Please don’t hurt me,” Jongdae said hurriedly, “I just need some milk.” 

 

‘Bloody brilliant’ Jongdae thought, ‘There’s a gun at my face and my excuse is that I need some damn strawberry milk.’

 

“Who the hell are you?” The man demanded, pushing the gun closer to Jongdae’s face. “Answer me before I blow your brains out.”

 

“Woah, hold on there, Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol quickly stepped in and grabbed the gun. “This is Jongdae, the tech guy.” The moment the foot was lifted off his back, Jongdae jumped and scrambled to the nearest wall. He pressed himself against it and could hardly speak from confusion. Kyungsoo and the unknown men were giving Jongdae a mix between wary and curious looks, while Chanyeol gave him an apologetic smile.

 

“What the hell is going on?” Jongdae asked, he could hear his heart pulsing loudly. “Why do you have guns and who is Dong-an?”

 

Chanyeol stepped closer to Jongdae, his hands raised to show he had no weapons. “Jongdae, you need to listen to me,” Chanyeol said slowly, “I know this must be very sudden to you but-“

 

“Yeah this is very sudden!” Jongdae interrupted, his emotions suddenly overwhelming him. “I just was threatened by a gun and I heard you guys talking about dead people and,” Jongdae took a deep breathe to steady himself, “I just want to know what’s going-“

 

Bam!

 

Jongdae collapsed to the floor seconds after one of the men hit him sharply on the head. Chanyeol gave the man such a patronizing look and frustrated huff.

 

“Sorry,” the man said, a sheepish smile on his lips, “He was talking too much and I figured you wanted him knocked out.”

 

“Damn Jongin,” Chanyeol muttered, kneeling down and inspected Jongdae’s head. “I swear if you killed him.” Luckily, Jongdae was still breathing, so Chanyeol laid him gently down and pull out his phone. 

 

“Baekhyun? Sorry, he knows.”

 

——

Jongdae woke up to the smell of smoke. He had a rag stuffed in his mouth and his hands seemed to be tied behind his back. Jongdae groaned loudly, as his head was pounding harshly. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking away the grogginess and pain. Jongdae tried to twist his body, but to no avail as he found himself restricting by various ties and a rope. He looked cautiously around him, taking in his dark surroundings and lack of light.

 

“Oh, you’re finally awake.” 

 

Jongdae froze at the voice, his senses going on high alert as he tried to pinpoint the sound. “What are you going to do to me?” Jongdae rasped out. He detected movement to his left, and twist his body as much as he could.

 

Baekhyun emerged from the shadows like a wisp of smoke. He was dressed in dark leather, his hair styled up and a single piercing dangling from his ear. “Hopefully nothing,” Baekhyun responded with a wan smile. He walked over to Jongdae who resolutely stared him in the face. Baekhyun unceremoniously removed the gag from Jongdae’s mouth and stepped back. “But it depends.”

 

“On what?” Despite the situation, Jongdae couldn’t help but retain his snark. He hid his fear of Baekhyun behind in sarcasm and false bravado, but inside, Jongdae was terrified that the other might actually kill him. 

 

Baekhyun didn’t respond, but stood in front of Jongdae with his fingers hooked lazily in his pockets. “You must have a lot of questions right?” He asked, giving Jongdae a warning look as if he thought Jongdae was going to lie. When Jongdae opened his mouth to respond, Baekhyun put a finger to his lips to shush him.

 

“I’ll tell you what you’re allowed to know,” he said simply. Baekhyun crossed his arms and surveyed Jongdae before starting. “As you figured, the job isn’t as legal as I told you. There’s a lot of factors at play here that you have no idea about.”

 

“Oh?” Jongdae raised an eyebrow, “Like, whoever the hell is Dong-an dude is?”

 

Baekhyun cracked a cold smile at the mention of the name. “Like the Korean mafia,” he corrected bluntly. Jongdae blinked in shock, his hands tensing behind his back. Baekhyun must have sensed his discomfort because he let out a small laugh and shook his hands. “Oh, we’re not the actual mafia,” he explained. “We, EXO that is, are affiliated with a certain group. Dong-an is part of an enemy organization.” 

 

“Then why are you having me hack in Mbank?” Jongdae wondered, summing up enough courage to finally speak. He still didn’t understand what Baekhyun was saying. 

 

“Dong-an is the real CEO of Mbank. The current one is nothing but a puppet leader for Dong-an’s corruption,” Baekhyun said. He finally showed some form of anger, his fists clenching and his eyes narrowing. “By taking down Mbank, we take down Dong-an and the rest of those sick bastards working with him.”

 

“And how do I know if you guys aren’t the sick bastards?” Jongdae argued. “You could have just made me illegally break into a legitimate company. I can’t beli-“

 

“Kim Taeyeon.”

 

Jongdae stopped speaking at Baekhyun’s interruption. “What?” 

 

“You know her?”

 

“Of course,” Jongdae said slowly. “She was the journalist that was murdered right? It was, like, one of the most gruesome deaths in the past 5 years.” 

 

“She was investigating Mbank for a couple months,” Baekhyun informed him, his eyes taking on a haunted look. “She got too deep, and Dong-an ordered her to be killed.” That made Jongdae shut up real fast. He remembered seeing the murder on the news; the look of grief and horror on the policemen’s faces as they blocked out the sight and solemn tone of the reporter. 

 

Baekhyun didn’t stop there with the explanation. “Single Handedly, Dong-an is responsible for at least ten more deaths in the last two years. Not to mention the influx of drugs and illegal weapons entering Seoul.” Baekhyun leaned in close to Jongdae’s face. “A disgusting shitrag like him can not be allowed to have free rein any longer. That’s why we’re targeting Mbank, to hit Dong-an where it hurts and show him that his malicious deeds will not be tolerated.”

 

Surprisingly, Jongdae found himself nodding along to Baekhyun’s words. It wasn’t that Jongdae had any interest in mafia affairs, but Jongdae harbored a deep and angry grudge against Mbank and the CEO (or puppet leader, as Baekhyun put it). And finding out about the truth over the journalist’s death solidified Jongdae’s hatred. “Alright,” Jongdae said. 

 

Baekhyun looked at him in confusion. “Alright,” Jongdae repeated. “You convinced me, do whatever the hell you want.”

 

“Really?” Baekhyun gazed back at him, a glint of surprise and amusement in his eyes, “No lecturing talk or yelling about the law?”

 

“Nope,” Jongdae answered, popping the “p” like a bubble. “Personally, I couldn’t care less about Mbank and the shit you’re going to do to them. Just leave me out of it.”

 

“Oh no, we can’t do that.” Baekhyun shook his head at Jongdae’s request. “You’re going to help us a little more.”

 

“Why? I already did everything you asked.”

 

“You want to help take down Mbank with us?” Baekhyun said, practically baiting Jongdae in. “Help us, and we can shut down that company and all its corruption forever.” Jongdae didn’t answer right away, he was mulling over Baekhyun’s offer. It was a tantalizing idea; just help the hot boss (and mafia badass!) take down the one company that has given Jongdae seven levels of hell for as long as he could remember.

 

It was a no brainer.

 

“Ok, I’ll help you,” Jongdae agreed to Baekhyun’s happiness.

 

“That’s my favorite kitten!” Baekhyun exclaimed with a boxy smile that reached his eyes. He walked around and cut the ropes binding Jongdae’s arms. “Then let’s go meet the rest of the team, shall we?” 

 

“Right now?” Jongdae glanced down at his dusty clothes and grimaced. It certainly wasn’t the first impression he wanted to make. Baekhyun assured him that he looked perfect (like the typical flirt) and helped Jongdae slowly stand up. 

 

“You’d like them,” Baekhyun rambled on, supporting Jongdae on his arm. “They’re all nice, usually, and you already know a few of them.”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Jongdae recalled a stony face man and a set of angry eyes with a gun pointed to his face. “Real friendly people.” 

 

Baekhyun smiles at him apologetically. “They’ll be a lot nicer now that they know you’re actually working with us,” he assured Jongdae. “And besides, why would I let anyone harm my precious kitten?”

 

“Someone knocked me out and then you tied me up with rope and stuffed my mouth with a nasty ass rag.”

 

“All in the name of love.” 

——

Apparently, Jongdae was locked in one of the other rooms, not some suspicious basement like he previously thought. He emerged from the room with Baekhyun glued to his side. The other led him to the kitchen, where it was consisted with seven other people, all mulling around. Any conversation died down when Jongdae and Baekhyun appeared, the people choosing to watch the two instead. Jongdae saw many curious eyes follow his movements as Baekhyun sat him down in a chair. From the corner of the room, Chanyeol waved to which Jongdae responded with a small smile.

 

“Ok everyone,” Baekhyun clapped his hands together to grab everyone’s attention (as if they weren’t already focusing on him). “I would like to introduce to you, our newest member, Jongdae.” Jongdae raised his hand timidly, clearly intimidated by the others. There was a chorus of “Hi Jongdae” that was so coordinated, he wondered if they had planned it before. Immediately, a tall, tan man walked over to Jongdae. He recognized him as the man who was sitting next to Chanyeol earlier.

 

“Hi, I’m Jongin,” he outstretched his hand and flashed a sheepish smile at Jongdae, “Sorry about knocking you out.” 

 

“Oh, that was you?” Jongdae shook his hand firmly. “Don’t stress, no hard feelings.”

 

Jongin’s smile lit up, akin to a happy puppy when it sees a new toy. “Really?”

 

“Yeah, I mean, I get why you had to do it,” Jongdae shrugged and gingerly patted Jongin’s broad shoulder. “Water under the bridge now.” Jongin appeared to relax under Jongdae’s hand, his worries dissipating. At first Jongin thought the hacker would be a bit pissed at him, after all, Jongin was the one to hit him roughly. But luckily, Jongdae proved to be an easy going fellow. Jongin swing an arm over Jongdae’s shoulders and announced,

 

“I like you, Baekhyun made a good choice,” to which Baekhyun, who was standing by Chanyeol, did a thumbs-up.

 

The rest of the introductions were rather uneventful. Jongdae met the rest of the team including Kyungsoo, the man who originally threatened Jongdae with the gun (Jongdae tried not to flinch when he shook the other’s hand) and Sehun, the other male that Jongdae saw with Chanyeol.

 

“So now that we are all nice and friendly with each other,” Baekhyun snapped his fingers, signaling one of the members (Junmyeon, if Jongdae’s memory was correct) to pull out a roll of blue paper. Jongdae recognized it as a blueprint, specifically, a blueprint of Mbank’s headquarters. There were notes written in white pen sprawled around the layout that Jongdae craned his head to read. It was mostly details about the number of guards or certain break times, but there was the odd comment such as “Garbage disposal here” or “elevator panel”. Baekhyun caught him looking and waved a hand to catch his attention. “Patience kitten, I’m explaining the plan right now.”

 

Baekhyun traced out the outer wall of the building with a slender finger. “Obviously, we’ll be targeting the main headquarters. We plan to hit here, and here.” With every “here”, Baekhyun pointed to a specific area on the map. Jongdae quickly read “main server room” and “CEO office”. 

 

“Our goal is to obtain the ledger that contains the names of the Chil Sung Pa affiliates,” Junmyeon stepped up to the table, promoting Baekhyun to back away. His voice is calm and authoritative, causing Jongdae to wonder who was the real leader. But his doubts were promptly squashed when Baekhyun saw him glancing over and flashed Jongdae a flirty wink, mouthing “I’m the real leader”. Jongdae rolled his eyes at Baekhyun’s audacity.

 

Junmyeon was still talking about the plan, paying no mind to Baekhyun who was mischievously making faces behind him. “We expect Dong-an to put up resistance, so we have to be fast and careful when we go in. Jongdae, do you think you can code a virus strong enough to disable Mbank’s servers and erase their hard drivers?” Said person was too busy sticking his tongue out at Baekhyun to respond, so Junmyeon cleared his throat pointedly and Jongdae flinched.

 

“Um, yeah,” He hurriedly responded, “Mbank has real lax security so I just need a couple of days and I think I can do it.” 

 

“Oh look, Chanyeol found someone competent for once.” Kyungsoo’s soft voice didn’t match the bite in his words and Jongdae glanced at him briefly in mild interest. In truth, Kyungsoo didn’t seem extremely intimidating to Jongdae, but he still couldn’t shake off the memory of the shorter male shoving a gun into his face.

 

“Yeah, I did really good right, Soo?” Chanyeol practically preened with contentment from Kyungsoo’s compliment. 

 

Kyungsoo, unamused, just huffed and turned away, making Chanyeol’s lips form a small pout. Jongdae looked back and forth between the two, noticing how Chanyeol gazed at the other with practical heart eyes. Jongdae’s mind supplemented the helpful thought of ‘Oh, Chanyeol wants to get into Kyungsoo’s pants’.

 

That put a bit of a dampener in Jongdae’s mood. But alas, relationships were never his thing, so it didn’t bother Jongdae very much. Rather, his thoughts turned from an energetic giant to a more mysterious and saucy raven haired male.

 

“Great, then we should be good to go in a few days,” Junmyeon looked over at Baekhyun. “Unless you have any changes, Baekhyun?”

 

“We’re all good, Myeon.”

 

Junmyeon nodded appreciatively. “Then let’s spend the next few days getting ready. You know your assignments, get them done.” With that, the impromptu meeting was over and the blueprint was rolled away and stuffed in one of Chanyeol’s many bags. The other members dispersed around the loft, some taking to the rooms while a couple sat down in the living room. Jongdae stood there, a bit unsure of what he should do until he felt a gentle touch on his arm.

 

“Hi,” a soft eyed man smiled at him, “Baekhyun told me to take you home today.” Jongdae looked over at the raven head, who gave him an encouraging nod. Jongdae agreed, earning him another sweet look. The man re-introduced himself as Yixing, EXO’s doctor. 

 

Before Jongdae got out of Yixing’s car, the doctor told Jongdae to relax for tomorrow would be a busy day for the hacker. Yixing gave Jongdae a tube of anti infectant, to put on any rope burns and bid him goodbye. Jongdae waved and entered his apartment, his mood a lot better than before.  Everything was exactly the way he left it, so Jongdae kicked off his dirty clothes and stripped to his bed shirt and a pair of cotton shorts. He jumped into his soft bed, sighing in happiness at the feel of the cozy covers and promptly fell asleep, anxiously anticipating the next day.

 

——

Next morning, Jongdae was awoken by loud knocking on his door. He got out of bed slowly, rubbing the grogginess out of his eyes. When he opened his door, ready to demand who had the guts to wake him up from his beauty sleep, he was met with a noisy “Good Morning!”.

 

Jongin strolled into the apartment, looking positively radiant for someone up at 7 in the morning (Jongdae needed to have a talk with Baekhyun about these early wake up times). Behind him, Sehun peered around Jongdae’s loft with interest.

 

“Are you ready for an exciting day?” Jongin beamed at Jongdae, who just stood there in his pajamas, not sure of what he should be doing. “Go change,” Jongin said, ushering Jongdae back into his bedroom. “Wear something comfortable.”

 

“Um,” Jongdae rummaged through his closet and pulled out a pair of black sweats and a navy blue sweatshirt. Jongin nodded approving and Jongdae hurried to the bathroom to get ready. When he emerged out, he found Sehun and Jongin sitting in his living room, sharing a carton of juice that they had apparently taken from Jongdae’s fridge. 

 

“Let’s go,” Sehun said, opening the door and pulling out a set of car keys. Jongin got to drive, while Sehun sat in the back, citing that as a newbie, Jongdae would be judged on his radio choices (Jongdae started playing underground rap and Sehun deemed him as passing).

 

On the drive to the headquarters, Jongin was talking animatedly about the job with Sehun occasionally throwing in comments. Jongdae felt comfortable enough with the two to pose questions about EXO and the job in general.

 

“Who are we affiliated with?” Jongin repeated Jongdae’s question with an easy smile. “We’re a branch of the Hwon Song Sung Pa, or the H.S.S if you’re keeping it short. We’re probably the nicest mafia group in Korea.”

 

Jongdae snorted at Jongin’s comment. “I didn’t know there were nice mafia groups around.”

 

“Well, it’s all relative, in comparison to the Chil Sung Pa, or Seven Stars, we’re pretty tame. Plus,” Jongin pressed his palm under his chin and batted his eyelashes cutely, “Aren’t we nice?”

 

“We’re not really part of the H.S.S” Sehun interrupted Jongin’s display of disgustingly cute affection. “We just work with them because our common enemy is the Seven Stars.” 

 

“Ah,” Jongdae finally understood a little more of the mafia inner workings, “So, an alliance type of thing?” 

 

“Exactly! What a smart kitten you are,” Jongin said, rubbing Jongdae’s shoulder affectionately. “Oops, I’m not suppose to be calling you that.”

 

“Why? Because it’s Baekhyun’s nickname for me?” 

 

“Yup.” Jongin nodded solemnly as if the two were talking about a matter of life or death. “Baekhyun doesn’t like anyone using his nicknames, especially if it's for people he cares about.” 

 

“I don’t know if I fall into the category yet,” Jongdae remarked, fiddling with his blue sleeve. “After all, I’ve only known him for a few days.”

 

“Don’t say that,” Sehun laid a comforting hand on Jongdae’s shoulder. “From what I see, Baekhyun seems to care about you a lot.”

 

“Thanks.” Jongdae responded, glancing back. His eyes strayed onto Sehun’s hand on his shoulder, and Jongdae blinked slowly when he realized that, Sehun was missing a finger. Sehun noticed Jongdae’s perplexed expression and hurried to explain.

 

“Oh, this is nothing,” Sehun reassured him, rubbing the small stump of a pinkie to show everything was alright. “Just a little reminder of the past, that’s all.”

 

“What kind of past is that?” Jongdae asked incredulously. 

 

“Sehun and I were part of a Japanese mafia group, the  _ yakuza _ , back when we were younger. It’s the punishment for leaving the group, or betraying them, as the boss thought,” Jongin explained. “I was able to escape before mine was cut, but Sehun wasn’t so lucky.”

 

“So,” Jongdae turned back to Sehun, “Where’s the, uh, other half of your finger?”

 

“Probably hanging on a string in the boss’ office, that sicko.” 

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah, I don’t know, he did weird shit like that.”

 

Jongdae just opened his mouth in understanding, unsure of what to say to that. 

 

“You know, quite a few of us have old mafia or gang backgrounds,” Jongin commented, executing an aggressive left turn that had Jongdae crashing in the car door and the car behind them pound on the horn like no tomorrow. “Damn, do these people even know how to drive?”

 

“You certainly don’t.”

 

“Shut up, Sehun. I know what I’m doing.”

 

“Oh, is that why we almost crashed?” 

 

“Wait, go back to the background thing, who else was in a gang?” Jongdae was curious to know more about the EXO members.

 

“Baekhyun was in the iljinhoe,” Sehun said. “And I think Junmyeon used to run an illegal casino out of his restaurant, and Yixing did medic work for turf wars.”

 

“Really?” Now that was news to Jongdae. He thought about the way Junmyeon and Baekhyun acted, how they seemed so familiar and comfortable with the plans and the dealings. “Actually, never mind, expected that. So you guys basically traded one mafia group for another.”

 

“Oh no,” Jongin swerved the car around before pulling up into the neighborhood. “EXO is a family, not just a mafia group.” 

 

“You’ll see,” Sehun opened the door the moment Jongin parked the car in front of the apartment. “You’re one of us now.”  With that, the trio went inside. Jongdae was greeted by the delicious smell of bacon frying and something akin to toasted bread. Following his nose, Jongdae peered into the kitchen to see Kyungsoo dressed in an green apron bustling around.

 

“Put on your house slippers,” Kyungsoo instructed him, pointing at Jongdae’s sneaker clad feet with his chopsticks. Jongdae quickly changed his shoes (choosing the slightly more manly blue elephant slippers) and watched Kyungsoo whisk eggs in a ceramic bowl. He found the other to be much less intimidating, which prompted Jongdae to cautiously ask,

 

“Can I help?”

 

Kyungsoo fixed him with a stern look. “Do you know how to cook?”

 

“Kinda?” Jongdae said, wincing slightly, “I helped my mother with holiday dinners a lot.”

 

“Better than everyone else.” Kyungsoo shrugged and handed Jongdae a pair of chopsticks. “Finish up the eggs while I work on the side dishes.” Jongdae took the chopsticks happily, glad to be of use. He dutifully mixed the eggs, while watching Kyungsoo finely chop up green onions and other various herbs. Jongdae noticed the smallest tip of a black tattoo peeking from under Kyungsoo’s grey sweater.

 

“What tattoo is that?” Jongdae asked. 

 

“This one?” Kyungsoo pulls down his neckline ever so slightly to reveal a black EXO tattooed in by his collarbones. “It’s the EXO logo, it shows other groups who we belong to.”

 

“It looks cool.”

 

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo gave him a small smile that warmed Jongdae’s body up. “I have another one too.” Kyungsoo pulled up his sleeve to reveal the tiniest dog on the inside of his wrist.

 

“Oh, is that a poodle?” Jongdae recognized the telltale signs of curly hair and floppy ears. At Kyungsoo’s nod, Jongdae asked, “Do all the EXO members have tattoos like these?”

 

“We all have the EXO one,” the other explained. Kyungsoo took the bowl of whisked eggs from Jongdae and poured them onto a hot pan before adding the herbs. “But we all have different animals, anything that’s meaningful to us.” 

 

“What’s Baekhyun’s animal?”

 

The question was out of Jongdae’s mouth before he could stop himself and Kyungsoo indulged him with an amused look.

 

“You’ll have to ask him yourself. And speak of the devil,” Kyungsoo nodded in greeting and Jongdae turned to see Baekhyun leaning on the kitchen doorway.

 

“You two look cozy,” Baekhyun said with his usual cocky smile.

 

“Well, Jongdae is the only other person who knows how to cook so,” Kyungsoo flipped over the omelets onto a waiting tray. “Naturally, I have to use his talents to the fullest.”

 

“Wow, kitten knows how to cook?” Baekhyun sat down at the table and rested his head on his hands like an excited child. “You’ll have to cook for me one day.”

 

“I helped make breakfast for everyone.” Jongdae said, gesturing at the steaming food. 

 

“I meant just you and me.”

 

“...oh.”

 

Jongdae’s lackluster response made Kyungsoo roll his eyes and mutter something about oblivious people, which Jongdae thought was awfully ironic considering Chanyeol.

 

“Food is ready, so call everyone over here,” Kyungsoo told Baekhyun, who obliged quickly. A chorus of name calling later and the table was filled with hungry people. Jongdae sat between Baekhyun, who could not stop attempting to feed him bits of bacon (“open wide, kitten” “please get that away from me”) and Jongin who was regaling him with tales of Sehun’s and Jongin’s time in the yakazu. 

 

“So you’re telling me, you accidentally blew up your friend’s car?” Jongdae asked in disbelief. He batted away Baekhyun’s sneaky chopsticks with a firm hand. “I don’t want your food, Baekhyun.”

 

“Accidentally,” Sehun said with air quotes. “More like, he owned some money to the boss, so instead of killing him, we just blew up his car to fake his death.”

 

“Wow, sounds fun.”

 

“It is!” Jongin was stuffing his mouth with eggs and bread but continued to talk like nothing was wrong (everything was wrong, he would spray little crumbs around and Jongdae saw Chanyeol physically restraining Kyungsoo from hitting the younger). “You should try it sometime.”

 

“I’ll pass, thanks.” Jongdae nearly choked after responding when Baekhyun took advantage of his open mouth and succeeded in stuffing a piece of bacon inside. 

 

“Eat it.” Baekhyun told him, eyes narrowing. Jongdae rolled his eyes but dutifully chewed and swallowed, to Baekhyun’s delight. “You need energy, we’re going to be training today.”

 

“Training, what for,” Jongdae asked, taking a swig of his strawberry milk to soothe his raw throat. 

 

“Baekhyun wants you to participate in the mission with us,” Junmyeon informed him, peeling and eating an orange as if he didn’t just drop a bomb of information on Jongdae.

 

“You want me to what?” Jongdae whipped around and stared at Baekhyun who responded with,

 

“I think you can do it, plus, we need you to implant the virus so you need to be there.”

 

“You have way too much faith in me,” Jongdae reached for another piece of bread tiredly, as if he was growing used to Baekhyun's antics.

 

“Don’t worry,” Chanyeol said encouragingly, “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

 

“Hurry and finish your food,” Baekhyun pointed at the remaining bits of egg. “We’ll start practicing right away.”

 

——

One of the many things that Jongdae learned about EXO is that they own a basement. 

 

“I wasn’t even aware there was a basement connected here,” said Jongdae, as he and Baekhyun walked down a slightly musty staircase. Baekhyun had led him to one of the closed doors, opening it to reveal a messy room full of storage containers (Jongdae asked what was inside, Baekhyun said it was better not to know). There was a trapdoor with stairs that led down to, at Jongdae’s astonishment, a rather spacious room. 

 

“Actually, it’s an old floor of the place,” Baekhyun explained, running his hand across the concrete wall to find a lightswitch. “No one ever lived down here, so we rented it and converted it to our little personal training space.” Jongdae nodded in appreciation as he looked around. In one corner, there were rings hanging from the ceiling with various punching bags attached. All around them, were padded mats laid on the floor, perfect for sparring or gymnastics. There were rows of racks of weights and medicine balls set up on the back. Jongdae could even see some battered targets (he wondered why they would need targets but then he remembered the way Kyungsoo handled the knife back in the kitchen) stacked up in a corner.

 

Baekhyun showed Jongdae to a side door, revealing a whole new space. “A gun range?” Jongdae asked, he saw glass walls and mannequins with red targets painted on them. Baekhyun handed him a set of ear muffs and protective glasses.

 

“Yup,” Baekhyun said, gesturing to behind Jongdae, where there was a table with various gun parts and ammunition spread around. “The walls do a good job of blocking out the sound, so no one ever bothers us here.” Baekhyun suddenly pulled out a small handgun and handed it to Jongdae, who looked at the weapon as if it was about to explode in his hands.

 

“I have to learn how to shoot?” anxiously asked Jongdae. At Baekhyun’s nod, Jongdae shook his head urgently. “I don’t think I can do this.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Baekhyun pressed a hand to Jongdae’s back and guided him over to the range. “That’s why I’m here to help.” When Jongdae tried to further protest, Baekhyun shut him up with a slender finger. “Just trust me.”

 

“And how am I supposed to learn?” Jongdae tried to remain stoic, but Baekhyun stepped up close to him, pressing his body against Jongdae’s back. Jongdae’s hands were slowly raised by Baekhyun’s hands on his arms. Baekhyun moved Jongdae’s fingers into the correct positions on the gun, all the while sending shivers down Jongdae’s neck with his warm breaths. 

 

“Well, the fastest way to learn how to shoot is to get shot at.”

 

“Yeah, not a chance.” 

 

“You worry too much,” Baekhyun’s soft laugh was so close to Jongdae’s ear, but he couldn’t move an inch with Baekhyun’s arms around him. “I would never let you get harmed. This is all just a safety precaution.” Baekhyun then went on to teach Jongdae about the different parts of the gun, what to do and what not to do, and finally, tips on how to shoot correctly. Jongdae tried his best to pay attention to Baekhyun’s words (the key word is tried), but with the other practically rubbing himself on Jongdae’s back (and ass, don’t forget the ass), he found it hard to concentrate on anything other than controlling his hormones and poor heart.

 

“Alright, now let’s try it,” Baekhyun finally said. He instructed Jongdae to raise the gun, take aim, and fire a string on consecutive shots. When they checked the target afterwards, Jongdae was (not) surprised to see that he barely grazed the target.

 

“Well, it’s not the best,” Baekhyun commented, barely concealing his smile.

 

“I know right, it’s almost like I never shot a gun before.” 

 

Jongdae’s sarcastic remark was lost on Baekhyun, who opted not to indulge the frustrated hacker. “You’ll get better,” Baekhyun encouraged, “Let’s try it again.”  

 

“Do you have any more tips for me, you know, for real life?” Jongdae asked, resetting his position and aiming the gun once more.

 

“Sure, just aim and pull the trigger, it’s that simple.”

 

“Minus the whole killing part.”

 

“Eh, you’ll get over that quick enough.” 

 

Jongdae muttered something about morals, but carefully aimed the gun nevertheless. He and Baekhyun continued to practice, with Jongdae slowly improving until he could shoot a decent cluster near the target’s center. Only when Jongdae was able to break the center ring did Baekhyun decide to take a break. The two sat down on the floor, their backs pressed up against the cool wall. Jongdae’s arms were throbbing from holding the gun for so long, and he gratefully accepted the water bottle that Baekhyun offered.

 

“You learn fast,” Baekhyun complimented, drinking from his own bottle. The two continued to relax in peace, until Jongdae remembered something Jongin told him back in the car.

 

“You were part of the iljinhoe, right?” Jongdae suddenly asked, clearly interested in Baekhyun’s past.

 

Baekhyun took a sip of his water before answering, “Jongin told you that?” At Jongdae’s nod, he said, “I was, up until I was out of school. Then I dropped and met Myeon, Yeol, and Xingie. They helped start up EXO and everything.”

 

“You really do have nicknames for everyone, don’t you?”

 

“Of course!” Baekhyun gave him a wide smile. “Most of them are just shortened forms of their names. But you, kitten,” he poked Jongdae’s cheek, “are just special.”

 

Jongdae stuck out his tongue in response, before continuing. “Kyungsoo told me that you all have tattoos, what’s yours?”

 

Baekhyun’s smile suddenly grew into a smirk and his eyes took on a playful glint. “You want to see?” 

 

“Why not?”

 

“Alright, but don’t freak out too much.”

 

“Freak out? Why would I-“ Jongdae let out a yelp when he saw Baekhyun suddenly taking off his shirt. “Wait, what are you doing, I never agreed to this-“

 

“You talk too much,” Baekhyun interrupted. He stretched out his arms, showcasing his biceps. Jongdae couldn’t stop his eyes from taking in Baekhyun’s toned body (which the other clearly took notice of). Jongdae simply blinked in shock as he stared at the now half naked Baekhyun. “Like what you see?” Baekhyun asked, his voice low and husky.

 

Jongdae averted his eyes to the ceiling, heat seeping into his cheeks and neck. “Just show me your damn tattoo.” Baekhyun grinned but made no further comment. He turned around and Jongdae let out an awed sigh.

 

There was an intricately detailed black and white tiger tattooed on Baekhyun's lower back. The only splash of color were the tiger’s red eyes that seemed to stare directly into Jongdae’s soul. He reached out and with the lightest touch, traced the tattoo. Baekhyun sighed in contentment, his back relaxing under Jongdae’s hands. Jongdae traces from where the tail started on Baekhyun’s left ribs to the tiger’s head, curled inwards and resting just above Baekhyun’s right hip.

 

“It’s gorgeous,” Jongdae admitted, entranced by the black ink. Whenever Baekhyun moved, the tiger would shift with him, creating an illusion that the tiger was alive.

 

Baekhyun let out a quiet hum and leaned back into Jongdae’s lap. “But not as gorgeous as you, kitten.” He said, looking straight into Jongdae’s eyes. Jongdae didn’t move, his eyes locked with Baekhyun’s that seemed to filled with something akin to admiration.

 

Jongdae suddenly became very aware of the position they were in; Baekhyun, shirtless, resting his head in Jongdae’s lap. It was rather compromising, but none of them made a move to fix it. Baekhyun took Jongdae’s hand into his own and pressed it to his soft lips. “Let’s end for the day, I want to stay like this a little longer.”

 

“Ok,” came Jongdae’s slightly breathless reply. Baekhyun smiled, this time soft and lazily, before closing his eyes and shifting around to find a more comfortable position. Jongdae didn’t move a muscle, his hand still clenched in Baekhyun's and his heart beating so fast, he thought it was about to explode. Baekhyun look ethereal, resting in Jongdae’s arms. Raptured by the other, Jongdae could only stare, and watch the rise and fall of Baekhyun’s chest as he took slow breaths. The moment seemed to perfect, nothing could ruin-

 

_ Grumble _

 

‘I’m going to throw myself out of a window’ Jongdae thought, his face blushing from embarrassment. He hadn’t eaten in a while, and his body was obviously frustrated with him. Jongdae couldn’t believe the biggest cock blocker was, himself. Baekhyun’s eyes had shot open at the grumbling, and he grinned.

 

“Hungry?”

 

“Yeah, sorry,” Jongdae flashed a sheepish smile.

 

“No worries,” Baekhyun got up (to Jongdae’s disappointment) and pulled his shirt back on (to Jongdae’s greater disappointment). “The others are probably wondering where we are. Let’s go eat.” He offered a hand to Jongdae and helped him up. Jongdae could only follow Baekhyun up the stairs, his mind still fixated on the feeling of Baekhyun’s warm body close to his and his soft lips on Jongdae’s hand.

 

——-

The next couple of days passed by in a blur. Not much changed between Jongdae and Baekhyun. Jongdae still kept up his snarky remarks while Baekhyun maintained his flirty persona. The only change was that Baekhyun became much touchier with Jongdae, something the other members didn’t fail to notice. 

 

(“I think that was the 4th time he touched your butt today, Jongdae” Jongin whispered to him.

 

“No, I think it was the 5th,” Chanyeol said with a conspiring wink.

 

“Shut up you two,” Kyungsoo growled. “It was obviously the 6th, Baekhyun kicked it on the way here.”) 

 

But Jongdae didn’t, or couldn’t, complain for every touch reminded him of the time in the training room; with Baekhyun’s breath ghosting his ear and his slender hands running up Jongdae’s arms. 

 

It was not something Jongdae wanted to be thinking about when he was in the middle of slicing carrots (“I said slice them, not slaughter them!” “Sorry, Kyungsoo.”). 

 

Most of the day was spent preparing for the job. Jongdae was able to code a rather nasty virus, potent of taking down Mbank’s servers within an hour or so. He saw Sehun and Jongin often leave the apartment, and come back later with bags of various items. Junmyeon and Yixing spent most of their time holed up in one of the rooms, apparently working on the finals details of the plan. In between, Jongdae trained more with Baekhyun; working on his gun technique and hand-to-hand combat. Baekhyun was a skilled opponent, and never failed to fix Jongdae’s technique. He also never failed to flustered Jongdae with his closeness or confidence. Jongdae never got to used to how Baekhyun would casually step behind him and hold him by his waist while Jongdae was shooting. But at the same time, Jongdae felt like he was bonding with the other, as Baekhyun (and Jongdae) opened up more.

 

It was one of these sessions that Jongdae decided to tell Baekhyun about his experience with Mnet. 

 

It was in the middle of a sparring exercise; Baekhyun was teaching Jongdae basic defense and offensive moves. The two of them had sat down on one of the mats, drinking greedily from their water. 

 

“You know, it’s a bit odd, for me to work for Mnet for so long and now, to go back and help take it down,” Jongdae wasn’t sure what prompted him to say that, but he felt comfortable enough with Baekhyun to tell him the real reason why Jongdae hated Mnet so much.

 

“Yet you seem awfully eager to do so,” Baekhyun carefully wiped the sweat away from his forehead with a fluffy towel. He, similar to Jongdae, was dressed in a sleeveless black top that accented his muscles and a pair of comfortable shorts. 

 

“I guess,” Jongdae stared at the water bottle grasped in his hands. “It’s just my way of getting revenge.” 

 

That caught Baekhyun’s interest, and he gave Jongdae a long look, as if prompting him to continue. Jongdae inhaled deeply, before launching into his story. 

 

“Well, I worked for Mnet for quite a while. They gave me a decent job on their IT department with good hours, so I thought it was a pretty good deal.”

 

“Why did you leave?” Baekhyun asked, nudging Jongdae with his shoulder. He was happy that Jongdae trusted him enough to open up to him, but he was also a tad apprehensive about Jongdae’s story.

 

“My boss happened,” Jongdae gave a short laugh, devoid of any humor, at the memory. As he spoke, Jongdae had flashes of memories, and felt a tingling sensation run up his wrists. Unconsciously, he started to touch them again, running his fingers over the sensitive skin. “I would often stay late to work, while the rest of my coworkers partied or went home. After some time, my boss noticed, and he would stay back too.” Jongdae paused, his next words practically choking in his throat. Baekhyun saw Jongdae’s hesitation, and gently took Jongdae’s hand into his own. Jongdae shook his head before pushing on.

 

“At first, I thought he was just taking interest in my work, but then, he would get too close, or he would say something about my body. My wrists-” Jongdae looked down at Baekhyun who was holding him. “He used to grab my wrists so I would stop working, and-ow!” 

 

Baekhyun, growing agitated from Jongdae’s story, was tightly squeezing Jongdae’s hand in his fervor. “Sorry,” he apologized, immediately releasing the pressure. “I just, can’t believe you had to work for someone as shitty as that guy.” 

 

“Neither can I.”

 

“For how long did this happen?”

 

Jongdae thought for a moment before answering. “A couple months, I guess, I stopped staying so late but he would just find me in my cubicle. Two of my close friends found out, though, and they made me quit, and helped to support me afterwards.” 

 

“They sound like good friends.”

 

“Yeah,” Jongdae’s expression turned a little nostalgic. “The best.” 

 

Baekhyun pressed his shoulders close to Jongdae’s, and loops an arm around Jongdae’s waist. In any other instant, Jongdae would feel bashful or shy, but at the moment, he felt comforted by Baekhyun’s touch. “Well, you’re never going to have to work for some whore like him,” Baekhyun said cheerfully. “And now, you’re taking down the very company that gave you so much trouble.”

 

Baekhyun’s confident remark made Jongdae chuckle. “That’s exactly what I said, when you asked me to help.” He grew somber. “Sometimes, I still remember him, and it makes me sick to my stomach.” 

 

“Don’t worry,” Baekhyun touched Jongdae’s cheek, prompting the other to look at him. Baekhyun gazed at him with sincere, and caring eyes. “I promise, I’ll never let anyone hurt you like that.” 

 

“You promise?”

 

“Yeah,” Baekhyun’s smile radiated and warmed Jongdae’s heart. “I promise.”

 

\----

At last, the day was here. EXO ran through the plan one more time, making sure that everyone knew their exact assignments. Kyungsoo handed Jongdae a flesh-colored comm, that fitted snugly into his ear. It was the break of dawn, and all the EXO members looked between various stages of excitement and anticipation. It was bold, executing a heist in broad daylight. But Baekhyun said that there was no better way to take down someone as corrupt as Dong-an than in the day, where everyone can see. As a precaution, everyone had a slim black mask, for when the more “illegal” activities happened. 

 

After one last review, and possibly the shortest pep talk Jongdae ever had from Baekhyun (“You know your jobs. Let’s get it done”), the members dispersed to their own positions. Jongdae was handed a grey uniform that he quickly changed into. Kyungsoo was wearing a similar outfit, with a badge that identified him as a member of the IT department. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had changed into neat suits, complete with briefcases and conceited looking ties. They were to pretend to be office workers, with their credentials already in Mbank’s system.

 

Sehun and Jongin had gone out and returned with a garbage truck and sets of uniforms. 

 

“We have to take good care of Donald Dump, ok?” Sehun said, handing a uniform to Yixing along with the truck keys.

 

“Did you seriously name the truck, Donald Dump?” Junmyeon asked. Unlike the other members who were dressed up, he was wearing his normal clothes, because he would be running the monitors back in the apartment.

 

“Naming things gives it flair,” Jongin informed him, already slipping into the olive green clothes. Junmyeon rolled his eyes but didn’t further comment. 

 

Soon, most of the EXO members were piled into three different cars; the garbage truck (or Donald Dump, as Jongin was adamant about), a homey looking blue trunk, and a sleek Audi. 

 

In the truck, Jongdae insistently rubbed his palms on his grey pants, trying to get rid of the thin layer of sweat. Kyungsoo noticed his actions, and asked,

 

“Nervous?”

 

“Yeah,” Jongdae nervously laughed. “This is the first time I ever did something like this.”

 

Kyungsoo humbled in understanding. “You’ll be fine,” he responded. “Plus, you have us with you.”

 

“Soo is right.” There was a crackle in the com before Baekhyun’s voice filled Jongdae’s ear. “Just trust us, kitten, and everything will go perfectly.” Jongdae was oddly reassured by Baekhyun’s confidence, and slowly relaxed. He felt better hearing Baekhyun’s voice.

 

It was easy to get into the building. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had their credentials in Mbank’s systems for a while (they worked at home, which is why they spent so much time with their computer) so there was no suspicion when they walked in. As for Kyungsoo and Jongdae, they were simply posing as the technicians sent to work out a couple bugs in the login system. In time, both pairs were safely inside with none the wiser.

 

Jongdae, when he saw the Mbank logo in glittering gold, could feel his heart rate speeding up. Everything about Mbank brought back bad memories that he had no intention of remembering. But this time, he felt more confident walking into the building, knowing he has people like Kyungsoo and Baekhyun around him.

 

Kyungsoo and Jongdae went up to the server rooms, occasionally greeting the guards and other workers with a nod or a smile to elude suspicion. Inside the room, Kyungsoo immediately locked the door and Jongdae pulled out his trusty laptop. Jongdae connected his laptop to one of the servers and got to work, activating the program and inputting commands. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo pulled out a wicked looking tool, that he placed securely over the cable ports in one of the servers. The device inserted itself into the port and began to download all that was on the Mbank’s database. 

 

Jongdae finished his task rather quickly, as he already had the program set up, and was ready to deploy the virus, or “data bomb” as he called it. “We’re ready whenever you are, Baekhyun,” he said, nodding at Kyungsoo and slowing down his typing.

 

“Roger that, kitten, we’ll be finished here shortly,” Baekhyun responded under his breath. He and Chanyeol were currently walking towards the main offices, where they would take the only elevator up to Dong-an’s office floor. He cheerfully greeted a passing worker as Chanyeol got to work on the elevator. In no time, they were safely inside and on their way up.

 

“Shut down the cameras,” Baekhyun ordered. Junmyeon, back in the loft, pressed a couple of keys before the security cameras were hacked and relooped. Any security guard that checked the floor would see only a clip of emptiness and tranquility. 

 

In the elevator, Chanyeol and Baekhyun stripped down to their mission suits; black, bulletproof vests over hoodies with military pants and masks. Chanyeol pulled out two guns from his briefcase, and handed one to Baekhyun who immediately loaded it and set off the safety. They stood on opposite sides, away from the doors.

 

When the elevator doors opened with a ding, the pair moved down the floor’s entrance hallway in silence. Chanyeol and Baekhyun worked seamlessly, each covering their backs while scanning the floor for any threats. Baekhyun prayed that there was no one on the floor; their guns didn’t have silencers so any shots would sound like someone threw a sledgehammer. Thankfully, they made it to the office doors without any hitches. 

 

Crouching beside the golden doors, Baekhyun glanced over at Chanyeol who flashed him a confident grin. Chanyeol reached back into his briefcase and pulled out a set of knives, long enough to be mistaken as machetes. Baekhyun reached into his own pack and pulled out another gun. “Let’s do this,” he whispered, his mind already set into his hunter mindset. 

 

A nod and a single look, and Baekhyun burst through the doors with the speed and strength of a raging tiger. There were a few guards that jolted in surprise, but they were brought down by shots from Chanyeol and Baekhyun. The two moved smoothly across the tiled floor, avoiding the pools of blood and making their way to the office. 

 

A guard emerged from the side, shouting angrily but he was silenced by a speeding bullet through the throat. Baekhyun didn’t even flinch as a sudden hail of ammunition rained on them from the sides. He took cover behind an upturned desk while Chanyeol swiftly executed the rest of the guards. There was the sound of bodies falling to the ground before Baekhyun peeked over his hiding spot to the where he could see a set of metal doors. Baekhyun pulled a small charge from his belt and carefully placed it on the doors before retreating back to Chanyeol. He counted down from ten before a loud beeping filled the air and the charge went off, blowing the doors off their hinges. 

 

Inside, there was a pudgy looking man, wearing a patterned shirt and slacks. He moved surprisingly fast for his size, running behind his desk for a weapon, but Chanyeol was faster. Chanyeol threw his knife at the man, pinning his arm to the wall. When the man tried to free himself, Chanyeol kicked him sharply in the gut. Baekhyun walked in the office, eyes blazing and a cruel smile on his lips.

 

“Long time no see, Dong-an.” 

 

“Byun Baekhyun,” the man spat out, venom laced with every word. “I should’ve known the H.S.S. would send filth like you.” Dong-an’s words were enough to send Chanyeol over the edge, who promptly necked the man and sent him kneeling to the floor.

 

“You’re awfully rude for someone who got his ass handed to him,” Chanyeol grabbed a fistful of Dong-an’s greasy hair and yanked him up. “You shouldn’t have pissed us off.” Dong-an let out a weak chuckle that Chanyeol silenced with a well placed punch.

 

Baekhyun walked over to where Dong-an was kneeling and bent down. He tilted his head as he stared at Dong-an’s bloody face. “You were always going to pay for your crimes,” Baekhyun said, “We were just the lucky ones that got here first.” 

 

“Has the H.S.S. been playing with your minds?” Despite the blood streaming from his nose, Dong-an managed to speak in such a condescending way that made Baekhyun’s blood boil from anger. “I have no quarrel with EXO. The Chil Sung Pa hasn’t done anything to you.”

 

“You threatened my members,” Baekhyun stood back him, a hard glint in his eye. “That’s reason enough for me to kill you.”

 

“Is that what this is then?” Dong-an hissed in pain as Chanyeol dug his foot into Dong-an’s leg. “Are you going to kill me?”

 

“No, of course not,” Baekhyun gave him a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “We’ll only make you wish you were dead.” With that, Baekhyun signalled Chanyeol to stuff a cloth in Dong-an’s mouth. Baekhyun turned away and started to look around the office, searching for the all important ledger. He glanced at one of the walls, and does a double take, noticing the smallest crack at the corner. Baekhyun looked at it closer, and pulled away at the crack, revealing a secret door. Once he saw what was in the room, Baekhyun cursed quietly. 

 

“Jongdae,” he said, turning around and giving the struggling Dong-an an angry look. “We have a problem.”

 

A crackle and a pop before Jongdae’s response. “What’s wrong?”

 

“There’s another server room.” 

 

Jongdae, leaning against the heated metal of one of the servers on the other floor, groaned. “Up in his office?”

 

“Yup, I think this is where the ledger is.” 

 

“Alright, I’ll be up there as soon as I can.” He glanced at Kyungsoo who pulled out the device from the server and shoved it into his bag.

 

“Let’s hurry,” he said, pulling Jongdae to his feet. Jongdae hurriedly packed his laptop away and grabbed an inconspicuous cap out of his bag. Kyungsoo and Jongdae emerge from the server room, looking as innocent as possible. They carefully make their way up to the upper levels. Kyungsoo picked up a coffee cup on the way, and sipped at it slowly as he stood watch for Jongdae who quickly picked the elevator lock. But before they are able to enter, a pair of guards emerge from the other side.

 

“Hey! What are you two doing?” one of them called out, hurrying over. 

 

Jongdae straightened up and offered an innocent smile. “Boss called us to go upstairs, there’s some problems with his computer.” One of the guards glared at him suspiciously.

 

“I’ll need to call him, make sure he still needs you guys,” the guard finally said, pulling out his radio. He started to fiddle with the dials and turned around. Jongdae glanced over at Kyungsoo who raised a single eyebrow. The other guard gave them a look, before turning to his colleague. 

 

Kyungsoo and Jongdae acted fast; the moment the guards’ backs were fully turned, Jongdae kicked one of them sharply in the back while Kyungsoo unsheathed a small knife and stabbed the other. The bodies fell to the ground with a loud thump, and Jongdae got back to work on the elevator. Within seconds, the doors open with a merry ting, but there was the sound of running feet and three more guards round the corner. 

 

“Hold my latte,” Kyungsoo said, shoving it in Jongdae’s hand. “Take the elevator to Baekhyun while I beat these guys’ asses.” 

 

“Are you sure,” Jongdae asked nervously, his hand gripping the coffee cup. Kyungsoo unclipped his bag and pulled out two guns that he twirled around his fingers. Jongdae shook his head in disbelief but punched the doors closed, as Kyungsoo fired off precise shots. 

 

“Good luck.” 

 

On the upper floor, Baekhyun heard the sound of gunshots ring through his comm. He also heard Jongdae’s nervous tone and Kyungsoo’s “Good Luck”. He was about to inspect the secret before he heard a cry of pain.

 

Baekhyun whipped around to see Dong-an stabbing an apparently hidden knife into Chanyeol’s gut, sending the member sprawling to the ground. Dong-an adjusted his grip, preparing to stab it through Chanyeol’s heart. Baekhyun doesn’t hesitate, he emptied his gun into Dong-an’s body. It jerked with every shot, before collapsing to the ground, blood seeping into the wooden floor. 

 

“You have failed,” Dong-an gasped out, his hand clutching his chest as he glared up at Baekhyun. He grew visibly weaker with every breath inhaled, and Dong-an let out a painful moan. “None of you will leave today.” Baekhyun raised his gun once more, aiming it at Dong-an’s blood streaked head. 

 

“Neither will you.”

 

The sound of a shot and Dong-an slumped down, his last breath exhaled. Baekhyun blinked, letting out a long sigh as he stared at Dong-an’s hole riddled corpse. He rushed over to Chanyeol, who rolled over with a groan.

 

“Why did you kill the stupid bastard,” Chanyeol asked, grunting in pain as Baekhyun wrapped a cloth around his injured stomach. Luckily, the wound wasn’t too deep (yay for the vests) but there was still a substantial flow of blood. 

 

“Would you have preferred for me to let him stab you instead?” Baekhyun retorted, his sharp words not matching his concerned tone. As Baekhyun was finishing up bandaging the wound, the elevator signaled the arrival of someone. Baekhyun aimed his gun at the metal elevator doors, but immediately lowered it when he saw a slightly shaken Jongdae emerge. Jongdae tried to dodge his way around the blood pools, but evidently failed and just walked through to where Baekhyun was kneeling. 

 

“Yeah, please don’t shoot me,” Jongdae tried to joke, but was unable to hide the nervousness in his voice. As he walked around the office his black shoes left small red stains. He glanced at Dong-an’s still body, but didn’t say anything, choosing to ask, “You want me to upload the virus and save all the data?”

 

“Yeah,” Baekhyun hoisted Chanyeol up, letting the taller lean against him for support. “I’ll help you.” He made the move to enter the room, but Jongdae stopped.

 

“You need to get downstairs,” Jongdae said. “Get Chanyeol to the rendezvous point and make sure Kyungsoo meets you down there too.” 

 

Baekhyun had a shadow of a smile on. “Since when has my kitten been so demanding?” Despite the seriousness of the situation, Baekhyun couldn’t keep the flirtiness out of his tone. 

 

Jongdae shook his head ruefully and a small smile appeared on his kitten lips in spite of himself. “Just hurry up and go.”

 

“No way, you’re insane if you think I’m going to leave without you.” 

 

“It’ll be fine,” Jongdae placed a reassuring hand on Baekhyun’s arms. “I’ll inject the virus and be out of here before you know it.” Baekhyun looked like he was about to argue, but an arduous groan from Chanyeol made him agree. 

 

“Get out of here the second you’re done,” Baekhyun warned him. He wrapped a steady arm around Chanyeol’s back and walked slowly to the elevator. He looked back at Jongdae, a worried expression in his eyes but a confident grin on. “Be careful, kitten.”

 

“You too, Baekhyun.”

 

Jongdae only watched Baekhyun reach the elevator before hoisting up his computer bag and entering the server room. Inside, the only source of light was the strobes from the computers, casting an eerie glow around the room. Jongdae didn’t waste any time; he found the nearest USB port and insert his own drive inside. He opened up his laptop and plugged it into a server, watching as the screen lit up with green as the code flowed through, infesting Mbank’s servers with various viruses and pitfalls. 

 

He worked in silence, his comm occasionally buzzing with static. Jongdae was halfway through with uploaded when he heard a loud beeping from the side. Jongdae grabbed at the gun strapped to the underside of his jacket. He gripped it tightly as he slowly stood up to investigate the sound. But then Jongdae saw something that made his heart drop through to his stomach.

 

“Ah, fuck.”

 

“Fuck?” Sehun’s voice filled his ear as Jongdae dropped the gun and hurried back to his computer. “What’s wrong now?” 

 

“There’s a bomb.”

 

Baekhyun was about to reach the building’s bottom floors when he heard Jongdae’s words. “Bomb?” Baekhyun’s hand flew up to his ear as his other hand gripped Chanyeol’s jacket. “What do you mean there’s a bomb.”

 

“I mean there’s a fucking bomb sitting right next to me,” Jongdae cursed, his fingers flying over his keyboard faster than ever. “I think this is what Dong-an meant when he said we aren’t leaving the building.” 

 

“Is there a timer?” Baekhyun waved off a worried looking paramedic, nudging Chanyeol to attempt to walk normally to ward off suspicion. There were firefighters and policemen surrounding the area, but none of them paid them any mind, too busy tending to the other frightened workers. He and Chanyeol hurried over the side of the building, where the rest of EXO was waiting in the garbage truck. Baekhyun pushed Chanyeol into one of the seats and gestured Yixing to help him.

 

“Yeah, but it hasn’t been set off yet.” Jongdae’s eyes blurred as white code appeared and disappeared off his computer screen like a flying bullet. But as the words left his lips, the universe decided to mess up Jongdae’s day. There was a loud clicking noise, and the red timer on the bomb started to wind down from fifteen minutes.

 

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” 

 

The flashing numbers, strapped to a black bundle, ticked incessantly as the numbers ran down, closer to the fated 0:00. Its red lights pulsed in the darkness of the small room enclosing it. Jongdae sat near the bundle, balancing a laptop on his lap, typing furiously. A bead of sweat trickled down the man’s neck as he glanced at the timer, his fingers never leaving the keyboard.

 

Only fourteen minutes and ten seconds before the man and everything around him would be eradicated by the seemingly harmless package. 

 

He took a deep breathe to calm his racing pulse. Fourteen minutes was plenty of time. There was a crackle of static, and a panicked voice filled the room.

 

“Jongdae? Where the hell are you?” 

 

The man continued working for a couple seconds before responding, “I’m not finished yet, I’ll be out in five, max.” 

 

“There’s barely any time left, you need to get out of there before the bomb goes off. Don’t worry about the ledger.” Jongdae couldn’t resist a small chuckle at the voice’s obvious concern. 

 

“I know what I’m doing, trust me. I’ll get it done and get out of here soon enough.” 

 

There was a pause before the voice responded quietly, “Ok, I trust you. I’ll see you outside.” Jongdae faintly smiled as he pressed a key and was greeted by a cheery ding from his lap. 

 

“See you outside, Baekhyun.” 

 

He continued to work, occasionally glancing at the ticking numbers beside him. But it wasn’t until he heard an unfamiliar hissing noise that Jongdae saw that the timer on the bomb had unexpectedly sped up.

 

Twelve minutes had just been reduced to eight. From eight, the timer went to four. That was Jongdae’s cue to close his laptop and get as far away from the package beside him. He stuffed the silver USB drive in his pocket and grabbed his bag. His hands trembled as he fumbled with the door handle in an effort to get it open.

 

He was only a few steps away from the elevator before the timer ticked to the final 00:00 and a blinding flash engulfed the room. 

\----

Baekhyun’s eyes filled with horror when he saw the windows in the upper floor of the Mbank building be blown out with a loud boom. Around him, in the truck, the other EXO members gasped when they saw the destruction.

 

“Jongdae,” Baekhyun whispered. “Jongdae.” He repeated it, a little louder, calling out to the hacker through the comm. But there was no response. Baekhyun felt like a pit of fire was lit in his stomach, as he wrenched open the truck’s door and jumped out, sprinting to the main entrance. Sehun and Jongin tried to grab him, but to no avail. Luckily, Kyungsoo was fast enough to jump out as well. He managed to reach Baekhyun and pull him back before the man entered the smoking building.

 

“Stop, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo hissed, digging his feet into the pavement to prevent Baekhyun from moving any further. “You can’t go in there.” 

 

“Jongdae is in there,” Baekhyun nearly yelled, struggling to escape Kyungsoo’s iron grip. “I have to get him, I can’t leave him there.” But Kyungsoo refused to budge one bit, he just pressed his head to Baekhyun’s back in a sign of despair. All around them, were similar scenes of chaos. Workers stared at the building, wide eyed while policemen called for a search and rescue. But the two of them didn’t notice anything, locked in their own bubble of grief. Baekhyun still struggled, but his movements became slow and lethargic when he saw that there was no one coming out of the building. 

 

Baekhyun sunk to his knees, his hands on the ash covered ground. “He can’t be dead,” Baekhyun whispered. “I promised him.” Kyungsoo didn’t say anything, or couldn’t, but he clutched Baekhyun tighter and slowly dragged him back to the van. Baekhyun let him, his strength gone as grief filled his body. 

 

But from the shadows of the doors, emerged two figures. Baekhyun let out a sound of surprise as Kyungsoo turned around to see what was happening. 

 

Jongdae hobbled out of the building, supported by a firefighter. His bag was gone and his clothes was torn, exposing raw and bleeding skin. He coughed, having inhaled smoke, and winced as the bright lights hit his eyes. Baekhyun shoved away Kyungsoo’s arm and raced up to Jongdae, who flashed him a weak smile.

 

“Jongdae,” Baekhyun said, relief filling his face. He took Jongdae from the firefighter, his arm wrapped tightly around Jongdae’s waist, as if Baekhyun was never going to let go again. Kyungsoo distracted the medics as Baekhyun hurried over to the truck and gently placed Jongdae on the seats. At once, the EXO members swarmed the hacker, concern and relief lacing their voices. Yixing got out a thick gauze and immediately began to dress Jongdae’s wounds. But before he could. Jongdae raised his clenched fist and offered it to Baekhyun. Inside, though soot covered and dusty, was Jongdae’s USB drive, the priceless ledger.

 

“Told you I would get it done,” Jongdae croaked, his voice weak from smoke and smog. He tried to speak again, but Baekhyun silenced him with a swift kiss. 

 

“I’m proud of you, kitten,” Baekhyun said, his smile filled with affection. Jongdae grinned rather stupidly, his brain going on overload mode from the fact that Baekhyun just kissed him. The two stayed motionless for a couple seconds, just staring at each other with practical heart eyes until a cough broke their trance.

 

“Yeah, that was awkward,” Jongin commented, turning back around to the front of the truck.

 

“Yay, the lovebirds finally realized their stupidity,” Kyungsoo said flatly. 

 

“I can’t believe I had to see that. You two need to get a room” Chanyeol shook his head and turned away. Baekhyun rolled his eyes at EXO’s response.

 

“Shut up before I shove a knife up your ass, Chanyeol.”

 

“Sorry, the only thing I want up my ass is Kyungsoo’s d-”

 

“Oh my god.”

 

Kyungsoo glared at Chanyeol who cringed. “What did you just say?” 

 

Chanyeol nervously laughed and gave Baekhyun a pleading look. “Nothing!” While Kyungsoo and Chanyeol began to bicker, Baekhyun turned back to Jongdae and gently wrapped his hand around Jongdae’s. Jongdae let out a content hum as his eyes crinkled with happiness.

 

“My precious kitten,” Baekhyun reached over and moved a couple stray hairs from Jongdae’s face. Baekhyun’s face softened as he gazed at Jongdae with a lovesick look.

 

Jongdae pressed a small kiss to Baekhyun’s hand, slowly and gently. “And my fearsome tiger.” Baekhyun chuckled softly when he heard Jongdae’s nickname.

 

“Is that what you’re calling me now?”

 

“Do you like it?”

 

“Mmhm,” Baekhyun bent down and kissed Jongdae one more time. “But I rather you call me, yours.”

 

“Ok, that’s enough of that!” Sehun jammed his foot on the garbage truck’s gas pedal and started driving the truck away. “Hold it in your pants, Baekhyun, until we get back home.” Sehun was able to dodge the officers with his fast driving skills and charming excuses (“Sorry! Can’t hear you! It’s too loud, there’s a bomb, ok bye!”). All the way home, Baekhyun wouldn’t let go off Jongdae’s hand, squeezing it as if to tell the other that no matter what, Baekhyun would always be with him.

 

Another hand squeeze, and Jongdae grinned, before squeezing back.

 

\------

_ Epilogue _

 

“Oh my god, how much longer?” Jongdae buried his head in Baekhyun’s arm, his teeth gritting from pain.

 

“Stop moving so much, or it’s going to hurt even more.” A tall, blonde hair man sat by Jongdae’s side, and had a sharp needle apparatus in his hand. 

 

Baekhyun reached down and played with Jongdae’s hair. “Don’t worry, Yifan is almost done.” he said soothingly.

 

“I can’t believe you convinced me to get a tattoo,” Jongdae groaned as Yifan continued to prickle his skin with ink. “It hurts way more than you said it would!” 

 

“To be fair,” Baekhyun gestured at Yifan to hurry up. “I said it would depend where you get the tattoo, and the hip is one of the places where it hurts the most.” 

 

Jongdae winced as Yifan moved down with the  needle, and started to squeeze Baekhyun’s arm tightly. An agonizing minute later, and Yifan was carefully putting a piece of plastic over the ink.

 

“There, you’re done,” Yifan said, cleaning up his tools. “I’ll ring you up by the counter.”

 

Baekhyun nodded in thanks, and gently lifted Jongdae’s chin. “It’s all finished, kitten, you did so good.”

 

“Finally, I thought I was going to die,” Jongdae exclaimed, eliciting a snort from Yifan. Jongdae twisted his body to examine his tattoo, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. “What do you think?” 

 

Baekhyun looked over at Jongdae’s hip, where there was a small, black cat with piercing blue eyes gazing back at him, and smiled. He planted a kiss on Jongdae’s lips, his hand caressing Jongdae’s face. 

 

“It’s perfect.”

 

_ Fin _

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Jongdae also got his EXO tattoo, but this time he didn't complain as much because Baekhyun was, er, distracting him ;)  
> Also did you catch those little name references haha
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
